Clothing styles of White British and Bangladeshi pupils influence their mental health

Cultural identity shown to influence mental health in adolescents:

Results showed that clothing preferences in adolescence appeared to influence future mental health, with different effects apparent by gender. Bangladeshi girls for example were most likely to benefit from traditional clothing choices, and White British girls benefited from integrated clothing choices. In contrast to Bangladeshi girls, White British girls with traditional clothing preferences had a higher risk of ill mental health, and White British girls who preferred clothing from other cultural groups (assimilated) were at an even higher risk. Bangladeshi boys who entirely preferred wearing western clothing had a lower risk of mental health problems, and White British boys with integrated clothing choices had the lowest risk of mental health problems at follow up, with the highest risk being those with marginalised clothing choices. These findings were sustained even after further adjustment for place of birth, religious groups and number of years resident in the UK.

So, the best choices seem to be: White British boy/girl: integrated clothing; Bangladeshi girl: traditional; Bangladeshi boy: western.

The worst choices are: White British boy: marginalised; White British girl: assimilated.

Feel free to add your €.02 about what all these terms actually mean. There is also a 2005 article on a similar subject by the same author: Kamaldeep Bhui et al. "Cultural identity, acculturation, and mental health among adolescents in east London’s multiethnic community." Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2005;59:296-302