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Maternal Beliefs about Vitamin Efficacy in Four U.S. Subcultures

Los Angeles County Department of Health Services

Merrill E. Sarty

University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles

Widespread use of supplemental vitamins continues in the absence of clear scientific evidence of efficacy. Observations in a variety of pediatric health settings suggest that their use may be based on expectations rooted in a variety of culturally based attitudes and beliefs. Mothers of well babies in four ethnic groups answered questionnaires, indicating their expectations of vitamin efficacy. We called those expectations aligned with organized Western medicine "Scientific"; those with less apparent basis in fact were termed "Magic." Black mothers expressed more Scientific responses than EMAs and Anglos, but the effects were contributed solely by data from mothers of girls. Spanish-speaking mothers of girls expressed significantly more Magic expectations than the Anglos and the English-speaking Mexican-Americans (EMAs); the Blacks and the EMAs expressed more than the Anglos. Mothers of boys showed no interethnic differences. Results reflect a strong interaction between ethnicity and sex of child.

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. 9, No. 3, 327-338 (1978)
DOI: 10.1177/002202217893005


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