EMBEDDEDNESS, CULTURAL CONSONANCE, and HEALTH in a DYNAMIC MIGRATION NETWORK in NORTHERN PERU by MAX JACOB STEIN KATHRYN S. OTHS
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EMBEDDEDNESS, CULTURAL CONSONANCE, AND HEALTH IN A DYNAMIC MIGRATION NETWORK IN NORTHERN PERU by MAX JACOB STEIN KATHRYN S. OTHS, COMMITTEE CHAIR WILLIAM W. DRESSLER CHRISTOPHER D. LYNN JASON A. DECARO ELLIOT H. BLAIR MICHAEL D. PORTER A DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Anthropology in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2018 Copyright Max Jacob Stein 2018 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT This dissertation investigates the effect of migrant embeddedness on cultural consonance and psychological health outcomes. Specifically, this project evaluates the extent that migrants’ relative attainment of shared migration goals and lifestyle aspirations is a consequence of their position in a translocal network of fellow migrants with whom they share longstanding social relations. The research question is posed with respect to a diaspora community originating from the Andean village of Chugurpampa in La Libertad, Peru. In the late 1980s, Chugurpampa was a vibrant farming community, but 30 years of rising economic stagnation and climatic instability have driven hundreds to out-migrate to the nearby city of Trujillo to overcome poverty. This mixed-methods project was conducted across the pueblos jovenes (shantytowns) and urbanizaciones (neighborhoods) of Trujillo Province in La Libertad, Peru, where thousands of Liberteñan migrants have found success as shoemakers, merchants, business persons, drivers, and brick masons. Some youths pursue advanced studies in technical schools and universities with hopes of becoming professionals, which most regard the only reliable way to get oneself ahead in life. Research therefore focuses on: (1) the construction and distribution of cultural models of “Chugurpampan migration success” (CMS), including shared migration goals and lifestyle aspirations; (2) modeling the boundaries and structure of Chugurpampa’s diaspora in Trujillo; (3) evaluating individual levels of mental distress using two correlated psychological instruments as outcome variables in empirical testing. This project offers an understanding of how social structure influences cultural success and mental well-being. Specifically, research integrates concepts from social network theory and ii cognitive anthropology to empirically test whether migrants’ embeddedness in the Trujillo-based diaspora community shapes their cultural consonance in CMS and psychological health. Results suggest embeddedness and cultural consonance have an interactive effect against psychological stressors associated with rapid culture change. Strong ties such as close family and friends are costly to people who are more embedded and consonant overall, while less strong community ties such as neighbors, schoolmates, or acquaintances are economical because they require a fraction of the maintenance and broaden access to new resources via weak ties. Conclusions aim to explain how patterns of human mobility are embedded in hierarchical relational structures and cultural institutions that influence the knowledge, behavior, and mental wellness of immigrants. iii DEDICATION For Genaro and RMD. Figuras paternas. iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS β beta, standardized coefficient $ (USD) United States Dollar S/ (PEN) Peruvian Nuevo Sol Av. abbreviation for Avenida (Avenue [formal street name]) Ccons cultural consonance in Chugurpampan migration success CESD-R Center for Epidemiologic Studies revised depression scale CMS Chugurpampan migration success (Cultural model) Embed embeddedness GenPsy generalized psychological distress HLOC health locus of control scale IRB Institutional Review Board LA lifestyle aspirations (Cultural domain) m meters MAOZ Miguel Angel Otiniano Zavaleta School Md median MG migration goals (Cultural domain) p statistical significance PI private investigator PSS-14 14-item perceived stress scale R correlation coefficient v R2 correlation coefficient of multiple determination (% variation explained) UA University of Alabama Urb. abbreviation for urbanización (formally incorporated neighborhood) US United States vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I deeply thank the many Chugurpampans who welcomed me into their lives and homes in in Trujillo and the highlands. Without their warmth, friendship, and hospitality, this dissertation would never have been possible. There are so many wonderful people I met in Peru who made this project among the most profound experiences of my professional and personal life. I would have been lost without my research assistant Genaro, whose companionship and friendliness I will not soon forget. I am equally indebted to many others, including Alois, Lola, Miguel, Liana, Paz, Mayra, Agosto, Feliza, Martina, Suni, Fránco, Jhonaton, Eliza, Elena, Carlos, Kevin and family, Elvis, Rocky, Rodrigo and Ruth—Su amistad se vale un Perú. Tkm. This research would not have been feasible without financial support from a Graduate Council Research/Creative Activity Fellowship from The Graduate School at The University of Alabama, the Allen R. Maxwell Endowed Anthropology Scholarship and Richard A. Krause Award from The University of Alabama Department of Anthropology, a generous gift honoring the memory of Richard M. Diamond, Medical Electives Peru, and continued support of Graduate Teaching/Research Assistantships from the Anthropology and Religious Studies Departments at Alabama. Special thanks are in order for Michael Murphy, Ian Brown, Keith Jacobi, Melissa Sartain, Teri Kirkendoll, Elizabeth Eubanks, Pamela Chesnutt, Robert Olin, David Franko, Susan Carvaho, Cori Perdue, Amy Dayton, Russell McCutcheon, Merinda Simmons, Steven Jacobs, and Michael Altman. Like many researchers, I am indebted to your support of scientific and intellectual endeavors, and grateful to each one of you for having placed your trust in me. vii I thank my dissertation committee members for their unending insight, encouragement, and support. I must single out my adviser and committee chair, Kathy Oths, to extend personal gratitude for not only taking me on as an M.A. student, but inviting me to continue the Ph.D. in Peru. I am beholden to your guidance, wisdom, and saintly patience, and eagerly await the ethnographic adventures ahead. I am deeply humbled to have had the privilege of learning from Bill Dressler. Your methodological insights and interminable appetite for culture theory make you the prototype to which all researchers ought aspire. I am grateful to Chris Lynn for helping me unleash my potential as a researcher. Our many collaborations in HBERG have helped me gain confidence as a professional anthropologist, and I thank you for tossing me into the deep end so I could learn to swim. I thank Jason DeCaro, who besides offering valuable insight and knowledge for this project, has been an encouraging force throughout my graduate career. And I thank Elliot Blair and Michael Porter, whose acuity and expertise in social network analysis I am simply thrilled to have had for this project. Endless thanks are also due to the many people I have known in Tuscaloosa who have so selflessly supported my journey. In particular, the late Richard A. Brown and family, Toni and Chris Copeland, Deborah Crocker and Ronald Buta, Ricky McMurtry, Jennifer Turner, Darion Chappell, Francois Dengah, Lynn Funkhouser, and Jessica Kowalski. Lastly, I must thank my family for their immeasurable support, patience, assistance, encouragement, and love for three decades strong. Mark, Lisa, and Sophie Stein, Richard and Nancy Diamond, Jason Smith, James Siegel, Julie Diamond and Caroline Spark, and Michael and Nina Diamond and family, I am so proud to share this accomplishment with you all. And finally, I send endless love and thanks to my wonderful wife Claudia Stein for her patience, empathy, compassion, and understanding through this entire writing process. You are my life support. viii CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION.............................................................................................................................. iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS ........................................................................ v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... xiv LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................... xvi PART I: INTRODUCTION AND STUDY BACKGROUND .................................................. 1 Chapter 1: Research Question and Project Aims ............................................................................ 2 Chapter 2: Anthropologists, Evidence, and the Andean Culture Region ..................................... 11 An Overview of the Andes in Historical Context ..................................................................... 17 Andean Dualism and the Enigmatic Ayllu: Living in Complementarity and Opposition ......... 24 Social Complementarity, Ritual, and Reciprocity ................................................................. 26 Ecological Complementarity and an Articulated Productive System ................................... 28 Gender Complementarity, Kinship, and the Household Economy