Search Results (520)

Background: Stunting remains a major public health problem among ethnic minority children in mountainous areas of Vietnam. Picky eating has been suggested as a potential behavioral risk factor for poor child growth, but evidence from vulnerable rural populations remains limited. This study examined the association between picky eating and stunting among ethnic minority children aged 12–35 months in Vietnam. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from October to November 2025 in two communes of Phu Tho province, formerly part of Lac Son District, Hoa Binh Province, Vietnam. A total of 341 children aged 12–35 months and their caregivers were included. Data were collected using structured interviewer-administered questionnaires on feeding practices and child characteristics. Picky eating was assessed based on caregiver-reported behaviors. Anthropometric measurements were performed according to standard procedures, and height-for-age Z-scores were calculated using the WHO Child Growth Standards. Zinc status was assessed in a subsample of children. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with stunting. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were reported. Results: The prevalence of picky eating was 39.6%, while 24.9% of children were stunted. Zinc deficiency was identified in 41.9% of children with available blood samples. In multivariable analysis, picky eating was significantly associated with increased odds of stunting (AOR = 3.63; 95% CI: 1.71–7.70). Snacking before main meals was also independently associated with stunting (AOR = 1.81; 95% CI: 1.01–3.24). In contrast, zinc deficiency was associated with stunting in crude analysis but was not statistically significant after adjustment. Other factors, including child age, sex, caregiver identity, and timing of complementary feeding, were not independently associated with stunting. Conclusions: Picky eating was common and was independently associated with stunting among ethnic minority children in this mountainous setting. These findings suggest that behavioral feeding practices, particularly picky eating and pre-meal snacking, warrant attention in nutritional programs targeting this population; however, longitudinal studies are needed to confirm the direction of this relationship. Full article

In multi-ethnic villages, public space serves as more than just a venue for social interaction; it is the vital ground where cultural integration and community identity take root. This study examines Cizhong Village in the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan, employing a mixed-methods approach that combines questionnaire surveys (N = 120), semi-structured interviews (N = 32), and Social Network Analysis (SNA) to compare the village’s planned spatial network with residents’ actual movement patterns. Findings reveal a significant structural mismatch: while the planned network exhibits higher density (0.32) and clustering (0.70), the behavioral network demonstrates a stronger small-world index (2.14 vs. 1.94), indicating that villagers organically form compact activity clusters around key social hubs such as the church and supermarket. QAP correlation analysis further shows that Tibetan and Naxi behavioral networks are highly similar (r = 0.833, p < 0.001), whereas Han networks exhibit weaker correlations (r = 0.527–0.607, p < 0.05), revealing a spatial pattern of “broad integration with localized ethnic preferences”. Grounded theory coding of interview data (55 initial concepts, 14 categories, 4 core categories) validates these structural findings and identifies the core theme of “superposed space of multi-ethnic dynamic sharing”. Based on these results, three optimization strategies are proposed: improving connectivity between public spaces, revitalizing key social hubs, and respecting established ethnic spatial traditions. These insights provide an evidence-based framework for managing public spaces in multi-ethnic rural communities. Full article

Background/Objective: Our current knowledge regarding ethnic/racial differences in the incidence of and risk factors for eating disorder onset is relatively limited. We examined whether the baseline prevalence and incidence of onset of any eating disorder over follow-up and the risk factors that predict future onset of any eating disorder differ for various ethnic/racial groups. Methods: Data were collected from females across a wide age range (N = 1952; White = 61%, Hispanic = 17%, Asian = 14%, Black = 5%, and Native American = 3%; M baseline age = 19.7, SD = 5.7; baseline age range: 13–64) who completed self-report questionnaires and a diagnostic interview at baseline and then annually over 3 years. We ran two chi-square tests that examined how ethnicity/race were related to eating disorders at baseline and future onset as well as a series of logistic regression models that tested whether baseline risk factors and prodromal symptoms were differentially related to future eating disorder onset across ethnic/racial groups. Results: The diagnostic prevalences as well as the predictive relationship of a risk factor and a prodromal symptom with eating disorder onset were very similar across ethnic/racial groups, with only one instance where the magnitude of the predictive effects differed across two ethnic/racial groups; lower zBMI was predictive among White women, whereas higher zBMI was predictive among Black women. Conclusions: Overall, risk factors and prodromal symptoms are similar across the examined ethnic/racial groups, suggesting that we can implement the same prevention programs for women with the same risk factors, regardless of their ethnic/racial identities. Full article

This review develops a configurational account of the relationship between religion and transnationalism by addressing a specific analytical limitation in the existing literature: its tendency to oscillate between substantializing religious traditions as already constituted entities that move across borders and segmenting transnational religion into disconnected domains such as networks, migrant communities, diasporic identities, institutions, political mobilization, digital mediation, social support, or pilgrimage. While these approaches have generated substantial empirical insight, they leave undertheorized the relational formation through which religious authority, practice, identity, material circulation, symbolic boundary-making, institutional organization, and mediated presence are assembled and made socially effective across multiple scales. To clarify this problem, the review reconstructs scholarship on religion and transnationalism through five major thematic domains: transnational religious networks, religious identity in transnational contexts, religion as a catalyst of transnationalism, the embedding of religion in transnational social practices, and distinctive forms of transnational religion. This reconstruction shows that transnational religious phenomena are inadequately understood as the spatial extension of pre-given traditions, as residual expressions of ethnicity or migration, or as discrete networks, movements, institutions, or diasporic communities. They are better grasped as historically contingent and relationally ordered formations whose temporary coherence is produced through the interaction of actors, authorities, practices, discourses, infrastructures, legal-regulatory environments, memories, obligations, and material flows. Building on the concept of social configuration, the review therefore proposes transnational religious configurations as a more precise unit of analysis for studying how the religious and the transnational are mutually constituted rather than externally connected. It defines such configurations as historically specific formations in which religious categories, institutions, practices, authorities, material resources, symbolic boundaries, and cross-border conditions of possibility are articulated across local, national, transnational, and global scales. The review operationalizes this approach through three analytical levels—conditions of possibility, construction and characteristics, and social realities and consequences—and illustrates its explanatory purchase by examining a new phenomenon within the contemporary transnational revival of Shi‘i Islam. Full article

Background/Objectives: Current research on vaginismus predominantly represents White cisgendered and heterosexual women of reproductive age. It is unclear how health professionals (HPs) navigate and support the needs of patients with vaginismus who are gender, sexually, ethnically, religiously, age and/or disability diverse. Therefore, this qualitative study explored health professionals’ experiences and perceptions of patient diversity to holistically assess and support people with vaginismus. Methods: In 2023–2024, 23 HPs in general practice, uro/gynaecology, pelvic floor physiotherapy, mental health, nursing and clinical education participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were inductively thematically analysed with a critical feminist poststructuralist focus on heteronormativity, cisnormativity, ethnocentricity, chrononormativity, and able-bodied normativity. Results: Two themes were developed. The first theme on ‘uneven attention of diversity dimensions in the assessment and support of vaginismus’ explored patients’ ethnicity, religion, sexuality, gender, age and disability. The second theme on ‘sexually and gender-diverse people’s varied treatment goals for vaginismus’ examined nuanced challenges between heterosexual and non-heterosexual women and limited representation of gender-diverse people. Conclusions: The findings suggest that not discussing patients’ diversity may contribute to their identity erasure and ethnocentric exaltation of White centrality. Treatment approaches may uphold heteronormativity. HPs often described vaginismus as a young woman’s problem. It is recommended that HPs review whether patients with advancing age and/or disability suppress desires for pain-free sex due to societal norms. Decolonising approaches and abject theory could inform the development of inclusive health resources. This can assist HPs to sensitively and supportively assess patients’ diversity to improve their holistic health and well-being outcomes for vaginismus. Full article

Religion, culture, and ethnic heritage play a significant role in shaping migrant identities. This paper examines the interplay of these factors in the identity formation of African Christian migrants in Europe, with a particular focus on second-generation (2G) migrants. It analyzes how 2G individuals negotiate Western secular values alongside Pentecostal orientations in ways that facilitate upward social mobility. The study is based on a critical review of the existing literature, compared with lived realities of migrants in the Netherlands. Drawing on empirical research from various European contexts, the paper aims to provide a rigorous and multidimensional account of intergenerational identity reconstruction among 2G African Christians. By centring the Pentecostal family as a primary site of socialization, the paper explores how 2G African Christians simultaneously distance themselves from, and selectively adapt, elements of indigenous African spirit cosmologies in pursuit of secular, achievement-oriented goals. This dialectical engagement reflects a broader generational shift: while first-generation migrants tend to rely heavily on religion and religious institutions as mechanisms of integration, 2G migrants increasingly prioritize secular aspirations while navigating socioeconomic structures, negotiating belonging, and constructing hybrid forms of transnational identity. In doing so, the paper contributes to scholarship on how 2G African migrants in Europe mobilize Pentecostal spirituality as a resource for achieving secular objectives. Full article

Raphiel Eristavi’s [Kakheti, 1824–Telavi, 1901] archival legacy constitutes a unique, underexplored corpus for examining the sociopolitical and cultural processes shaping 19th-century Georgia’s national identity. These archival documents contain his writings as a publicist, his ethnographic and geographical notes, literary texts, and private correspondence, shedding light on the intellectual and cultural dynamics of the period, particularly about reintegrating Muslim Georgian communities into the national space. Eristavi’s contributions to periodicals reflect his publicist activities, illustrating the press’s formative role in shaping public opinion, consolidating cultural identity, and fostering national awareness. His writings articulate his conviction that language, culture, tradition, and shared historical memory function as the primary instruments for reconnecting estranged territories with Georgia’s historical continuum. This entry analyzes Eristavi’s role as an intellectual and cultural mediator in integrating Muslim Georgian populations (i.e., Tao-Klarjeti and Samtskhe) into broader national frameworks, particularly in his writings on the Crimean War and Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, as well as how he engaged with questions about ethnic identity, territorial cohesion, and cultural memory. By situating Eristavi’s archive within the wider efforts of the Georgian intelligentsia, this study seeks to highlight his contribution to preserving language, promoting education, and reaffirming historical unity as essential components of national and state consciousness. Full article

Existing research on factors associated with self-esteem and the subsequent risk of mental health disorders among immigrant Indian university students has largely focused on the US immigrant population. To address this gap, the present study surveyed immigrant university students in the UAE. While previous studies have independently linked ethnic identity, perceived social support, and maladaptive perfectionism to self-esteem, this study is the first to examine these associations within a new geographical context. The study hypothesized that (i) ethnic identity would predict self-esteem, (ii) perceived social support would positively predict self-esteem, and (iii) maladaptive perfectionism would negatively predict self-esteem. The final regression model explained 35% of the variance in self-esteem, and the findings were in line with the hypotheses. These findings can help highlight the potential relevance of ethnic identity, social support, and maladaptive perfectionism in understanding variations in self-esteem among immigrant Indian university students. However, the study has limitations, including its cross-sectional and correlational nature. Further studies may reveal culturally embedded patterns warranting investigation through longitudinal or experimental research. Full article

Background: Transgender and gender expansive (TGE) people experience high rates of interpersonal victimization, which has been linked to high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD, a highly disabling and under-studied mental illness among TGE people). This systematic review identifies, classifies, critically appraises, and synthesizes the peer-reviewed literature describing the association between interpersonal victimization and post-traumatic stress among TGE people. This review collates what is known about the associations between victimization and PTSD among TGE people and makes recommendations to guide future research and intervention development. Methods: Searches were conducted across five databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, PsycInfo, and CINAHL) following PRISMA guidelines. Inclusion criteria were: English language; peer-reviewed original research; articles describing the association between victimization and PTSD among TGE youth or adults; reporting TGE-specific data. Exclusion criteria were: reviews, commentaries without original data, dissertations or theses, conference abstracts, animal studies, studies without TGE-specific findings, and case studies. Quality appraisal was completed for all studies, which included a discussion of bias. Data extraction was completed by two independent authors, and conflicts were resolved by a third. Data were stratified by gender identity, race or ethnicity, and type of violence for further synthesis. Results: 25 studies were evaluated for design, measure quality, and key findings. Findings were highly consistent across studies: multiple forms of interpersonal violence (e.g., childhood maltreatment, sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and transgender-specific victimization) were significantly associated with PTSD symptom severity or diagnosis across diverse identities and geographic contexts. All studies examining childhood sexual abuse reported significant associations with PTSD outcomes, highlighting early life as a critical period of vulnerability. Samples were disproportionately White and adult, with limited examination of intersectional experiences shaped by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Discussion: Interpersonal violence-related PTSD among TGE populations reflects a pervasive and systemic pattern of trauma rooted in structural discrimination rather than isolated individual risk. Addressing this inequity requires multilevel prevention and intervention strategies. Future research should prioritize longitudinal designs, culturally responsive measurement tools, and intersectional analyses to inform prevention, clinical care, and policy responses. The majority of studies were cross-sectional designs, so causality cannot be inferred. Additionally, the samples were disproportionately White and adult, which may bias the magnitude of associations reported and limit generalizability to racially and ethnically diverse TGE populations. Although many studies reported race and ethnicity descriptively, none disaggregated violence-related PTSD outcomes by racial or ethnic group within TGE samples, representing a critical limitation for intersectional analysis. Full article

In this article I analyse the period of social and political upheaval faced by mixed Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic families living in the Subcarpathian countryside in the 1930s and 1940s. Focusing on a vernacular perspective often overlooked in nation-centric historiographies, I describe the nature of neighbourly relations and collective identity both before and after World War II. I pay particular attention to the ambiguous connections between religious and ethnic identities before the war, highlighting phenomena such as bi-ritualism and diglossia. I then juxtapose this with the specific circumstances of 1944–1945, when villagers were frequently forced to choose their ethnic identity under the threat of Polish and Ukrainian nationalist guerrillas, especially active during that time. Building on a rich body of ethnographic material, I argue that choices of ethnic identity during a “state of exception” were often unstable and shaped primarily by the imperative of survival and other pragmatic considerations. However, I also present tragic stories of mixed families, where the ethnic choices made by some individuals were rooted in their deeply held convictions. Additionally, I reference scholars who are re-evaluating and complicating the relationship between nationalism and religious identity in rural European communities living in border areas, including Norman Davies, Kate Brown, Max Bergholz, and Jarosław Syrnyk. Full article

Despite the aim of municipal boundaries re-demarcation to improve capacity, functionality, economic viability, and service delivery in South African municipalities, it often leads to community unrest, protests, and violent confrontations. This article examines socio-political factors that contribute to the ongoing disputes in Vuwani and Malamulele communities, Limpopo, South Africa, and their implications for social cohesion and local governance in a post-apartheid context. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 52 community members and other stakeholders who are directly involved in or affected by the disputes. Guided by territoriality theory, through thematic analysis, the study findings reveal that re-demarcation disputes are intertwined with political interests, differentiated ethnic and cultural identities, inadequate community consultation, and governance power imbalances. By situating Vuwani and Malamulele communities within wider debates on municipal border disputes, this study calls for an inclusive, transparent, and culturally sensitive approach to the implementation of municipal boundary changes. This is crucial for building united, peaceful, and sustainable communities, and for local government to regain public trust in post-apartheid South Africa. Full article

Background/Objective: Child health serves as a foundational part of human development. Inequities in access to key health services remain high in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), most notably among children from disadvantaged, racially, or ethnically marginalized groups. The objective of this structured narrative review is to evaluate and aggregate the available evidence on racial/ethnic disparities in childhood healthcare access in SSA. Methods: A comprehensive search on African Index Medicus (AIM), Web of Science and PubMed for studies published between 2010 and 2025 was executed using relevant MeSH terms and Boolean operators. Studies on healthcare access inequalities among racial or ethnic groups in SSA were included. This study was conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Results: Ten articles were included. Ethnicity was an independent contributor to inequities in childhood healthcare across four domains: vaccination coverage (lower for Hausa/Fulani in Nigeria and Somali/Luhya in Kenya compared to dominant groups), timeliness of vaccination, child mortality (higher in economically and ethnically marginalized groups), and nutritional status (elevated stunting and underweight odds in certain ethnic minorities). Conclusions: Racial and ethnic inequalities in child healthcare access across SSA are driven by multi-factor structural, geographical, and cultural barriers. Although socioeconomic improvement reduces some disparities, it does not eradicate them, highlighting that ethnic identity continues to shape health outcomes independently. Addressing these disparities requires strengthening culturally inclusive healthcare delivery, improving access in underserved regions, and integrating ethnicity-disaggregated monitoring into national health systems. Full article

Located in northeastern Anatolia, Çıldır and Ardahan serve as a gateway to the Caucasus for political entities such as the state and mobile groups such as the tribe. Due to this geopolitical characteristic, the region has fallen under the dominion of numerous states and civilizations throughout history. With its fertile highlands, Lake Çıldır, and natural water resources like the Kura River, the area constitutes an attractive living space for hem settled agriculturalists and nomadic tribe groups subsisting on animal husbandry. These features have profoundly influenced the ethnic, demographic, socio-economic, and cultural fabric of the region. Following the establishment of Ottoman sovereignty in the 16th century, Çıldır and Ardahan assumed a vital role in the state’s Caucasian and Eastern policies. This research addresses the Turkmen tribe and other ethnic communities residing around the eyalet of Çıldır and the sanjak of Ardahan. It further examines the banditry activities carried out by these groups, the attitudes of central and local administrators toward such activities, migration and settlement patterns, and the economic and political pressures exerted by the Russian State upon these tribes. The political and economic pressures exerted by the Russian State on these tribes reflect a broader imperial strategy of frontier making, as discussed by Khodarkovsky in the context of Russia’s expansion into its southern borderlands. By positioning the region as a negotiated frontier, this study moves beyond a descriptive narrative to analyze how tribal mobility and settlement functioned as tools of sovereignty and resistance within the broader context of Ottoman state formation and trans-imperial rivalry. The methodology employed in this study is the Qualitative Research Method; accordingly, documents from the Presidential Ottoman Archives (BOA) were transcribed, and the relevant sections were interpreted and incorporated into the study. The archival findings are contextualized within recent historiographical debates concerning the shifting definition of the state versus nomadic agency during the transition from the 18th to the 19th century. While existing literature contains academic studies aiming to elucidate the archaeological, geographical, economic, and administrative structures of Çıldır and Ardahan, it has been determined that no academic research has been conducted to analyze the ethno-socio-demographic structure of the region specifically focusing on the 18th and 19th centuries in a historical sense. With this focus on the interplay between imperial frontiers and tribal identity, this study provides a critical analysis of how local dynamics shaped the grand strategies of the Ottoman and Russian Empires. Full article

Social media platforms have become central infrastructures for disaster communication, yet their role in shaping ethnic cohesion in post-conflict societies remains insufficiently examined. Sri Lanka, marked by a legacy of ethnic conflict, provides a critical context for exploring how moments of crisis are narratively and symbolically negotiated online. This study employs a qualitative digital ethnographic approach to analyze publicly accessible social media content circulated during a recent national disaster. Data were collected from Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok between 1 and 10 December, yielding an initial corpus of 344 posts, of which 200 were purposively selected for in-depth analysis following the removal of duplicated and near-identical content. Reflexive thematic analysis identified three dominant and interrelated narrative patterns: expressions of solidarity, resource sharing and mutual aid, and visual–symbolic representations of unity. These narratives were articulated through inclusive language, unity-oriented hashtags, depictions of material assistance, and imagery emphasizing co-presence across religious and institutional lines. Engagement metrics were examined as indicators of narrative resonance within platform visibility structures. The findings suggest that social media temporarily foregrounded discursive cohesion and symbolic unity during the disaster period. However, these representations should be interpreted as context-specific and performative rather than as evidence of durable inter-ethnic integration. This study contributes by demonstrating how social media platforms operate as spaces for the performative articulation of ethnic unity during disasters in post-conflict contexts, using a digital ethnographic approach to methodologically and empirically research digital ethnography, disaster communication, and social cohesion in post-conflict settings. Full article

Cookbooks serve as structured records of both ingredient repertoires and the underlying processing logics that define a culture’s culinary identity. By modeling five Transylvanian ethnic traditions—Hungarian, Romanian, Transylvanian Saxon, Jewish, and Armenian—as weighted, undirected co-occurrence networks, we found that interethnic connectivity is driven primarily by technological processes rather than simple ingredient presence. Using purposive sampling, we compiled a harmonized corpus of 1409 recipes and applied explicit ingredient normalization (retention, aggregation, and deconstruction) and a 14-class functional taxonomy. We computed density, clustering, modularity, and centrality measures and compared cuisines with a binary Jaccard index, both at the category level and within four course types. Category networks reveal an exceptionally tight Hungarian–Romanian–Armenian triangle (J > 0.95), whereas course-level results show that main dishes exhibit the strongest divergence (J < 0.28). These results support a layered identity model of Transylvanian gastronomy: while shared confectionery frameworks in desserts dissolve ethnic boundaries (M < 0.17), main dishes actively guard cultural boundaries through distinct technological signatures. Full article