The effects of markers of shared identity on inflammation and stress

身份超越了个人，塑造了社会互动和共同归属感。尽管身份的可见标志作为社会归属的标志很重要，但就其对健康的影响而言，它们受到的关注有限。因此，本研究将探讨围绕特定身份标记的文化价值观的一致性如何影响健康。研究人员将在有或没有可见身份标记的个体中测量一系列内分泌和免疫功能的生物标记，这些个体报告了不同程度的共同身份。该项目将培训来自科学领域代表性不足的背景的学生。其他产出将服务于公众，包括免费在线教学模块、博物馆展品、一本书和一部纪录片、身份标志和健康。这个为期三年的项目的目标是调查身份标记作为共享归属感的重要方面，测试表达归属感对健康的影响程度。研究的第一阶段包括开发一份文化上有效的问卷，调查身份的社会能指对参与者归属感的相对重要性。第二阶段将调查问卷的结果与健康指标相关联，包括免疫球蛋白A、白细胞介素-1β、白细胞介素-6、c反应蛋白、α -淀粉酶和唾液样本中的皮质醇。所采用的生物文化方法综合运用了经过验证的方法，以经验衡量文化的内化和影响，以及评估免疫和内分泌反应的先进现场技术，全面了解身份的能指如何促进或偏离共同的归属感，进而影响健康。研究结果将有助于体现理论和文化共识理论。本项目由文化人类学和促进竞争研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Identity transcends individuals, shaping social interactions and senses of shared belonging. Despite their importance as signifiers of social belonging, visible markers of identity have received limited attention in terms of their attendant impacts on health. This study will thus investigate how consonance with cultural values around specific markers of identity impacts health. The researchers will measure a series of biological markers of endocrine and immune function among individuals with and without visible markers of identity who report varying degrees of shared identity. The project will train students from backgrounds underrepresented in the sciences. Additional outputs will serve the public, including free online teaching modules, museum exhibits, a book and a documentary film identity markers and health.The goals of this 3-year project are to investigate identity markers as important facets of shared belonging, testing the degree to which expressing belonging can influence health. The first phase of research involves developing a culturally valid questionnaire about the relative importance of social signifiers of identity to participants' senses of belonging. The second phase correlates results of the questionnaire to measures of health, including immunoglobulin A, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, alpha-amylase, and cortisol derived from saliva samples. The biocultural approach taken utilizes a mixture of proven methods for empirically measuring the internalization and impact of culture and advanced field techniques for assessing immune and endocrine response, providing a holistic sense of how signifiers of identity contribute to or depart from shared belonging and in turn impact health. The results will contribute to theories of embodiment and cultural consensus theory. This project is jointly funded by Cultural Anthropology and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.