Assimilation and emerging health disparities among new generations of U.S. children

This article shows that the prevalence of four common child health conditions increases across generations (from first-generation immigrant children to second-generation U.S.-born children of immigrants to third-and-higher-generation children) within each of four major U.S. racial/ethnic groups. In the third-plus generation, black and Hispanic children have higher rates of nearly all conditions. Health care, socioeconomic status, parents’ health, social support, and neighborhood conditions influence child health and help explain third-and-higher-generation racial/ethnic disparities. However, these factors do not explain the generational pattern. The generational pattern may reflect cohort changes, selective ethnic attrition, unhealthy assimilation, or changing responses to survey questions among immigrant groups.assimilation, child health, disparities, immigration, race/ethnicity

Application of Belsky’s Parenting Stress Model to Hispanic Mothers: A Racial and Ethnic Comparative Analysis

Maternal parenting stress is associated with lower levels of life satisfaction and marital satisfaction, poor parent-child communication and disruptive child behavior. Belsky’s process model of parenting suggests that stress is influenced by three domains: maternal, child and contextual factors. While this conceptual framework is often used to study stress, this model has not been tested with Hispanic mothers. The current study uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study to explore patterns in parenting stress among Hispanic mothers in comparison to non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black mothers. Findings from our study reveal that the predictors of stress among Hispanic mothers differ from those observed for non- Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black mothers. Maternal characteristics, including health and mental health, and education play a less significant role for Hispanics, which is not consistent with Belsky’s model. Albeit exploratory, this study suggests we should to take a closer look at the unique mechanisms affecting Hispanic mental health.Parenting, stress, Hispanic mothers, mental health, Fragile Families

Deporting Fathers: Involuntary Transnational Families and Intent to Remigrate among Salvadoran Deportees

One-fourth of deportees from the U.S. are parents of U.S.-citizen children. We do not know how separation from families affects remigration among deportees, who face high penalties given unlawful reentry. We examined how family separation affects intent to remigrate among Salvadoran deportees. The majority of deportees with children in the U.S. were also separated from their spouse, and the vast majority had U.S.-citizen children. Family separation was the single most important factor affecting intent to remigrate. We interpret these findings in light of immigration policy debates

Integration of unaccompanied migrant youth in the United States: a call for research

Between October 2013 and July 2016, over 156,000 children travelling without their guardians were apprehended at the U.S.–Mexico border and transferred to the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). During that same period, ORR placed over 123,000 unaccompanied migrant youth – predominantly from Central America – with a parent or other adult sponsor residing in the U.S. Following placement, local communities are tasked with integrating migrant youth, many of whom experience pre- and in-transit migration traumas, family separation, limited/interrupted schooling, and unauthorised legal status, placing them at heightened risk for psychological distress, academic disengagement, maltreatment, and human trafficking. Nonetheless, fewer than 10% of young people receive formal post-release services (PRS). This paper addresses the paucity of research on the experiences of the 90% of children and youth without access to PRS. To bridge this gap, this article: (a) describes the post-release experiences of unaccompanied youth, focusing on legal, family, health, and educational contexts; (b) identifies methodological and ethical challenges and solutions in conducting research with this population of young people and their families; and (c) proposes research to identify structural challenges to the provision of services and to inform best practices in support of unaccompanied youth

Examining the mediating role of family processes in the relationship between family income and mental health outcomes among young children involved in the child welfare system

textThe negative relationship between economic hardship, child maltreatment, and child development in young children is well-documented. However, few studies have examined the mechanisms underlying the link between family economic hardship and child mental health outcomes in the context of child maltreatment. In this study, the family stress model is used to understand how family economic hardship affects child mental health. In this model, the effects of economic hardship on child mental health are indirect through their influence on family processes. Family processes are aspects of family life and are characterized by parental psychological functioning and parenting behavior. Because unhealthy family processes, which often lead to maltreatment, are associated with poor outcomes in the development of children, this framework can link developmental research and theory to an analysis of child maltreatment. The current study analyzes data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being-II, a survey of families in the child welfare system. The sample included children ages 18 months to 11 years and their parent (or caregivers). The results indicated that family income, a measure of economic hardship, was significantly associated with mental health problems in children involved in the child welfare system, but not in the way it was expected. Structural equation modeling analysis revealed no significant direct or indirect paths from family income to child mental health, but showed that family income affected other mechanisms contributing to poor child mental health. Lower family income was associated with greater parental depressive symptoms, alcohol use, drug use, and physical abuse. In line with the family stress model, the relationship between parental depression and child mental health was partially mediated through physical abuse. Similarly, physical abuse fully mediated the relationship between parental alcohol use and child mental health. However, neglect did not mediate the relationship between family processes and child mental health. Contrary to the study hypothesis, family processes did not mediate the relationship between family income and child mental health. Rather, family processes predicted poor child mental health. In particular, physical abuse was an important vehicle through which parental functioning translated to poor mental health outcomes in children.Social Wor

Child human trafficking victims: Challenges for the child welfare system

Since the passing of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act in 2000 and its reauthorization by President George Bush in 2008, federal, state and community efforts in identifying and providing services for victims of human trafficking have significantly improved. However, most of the research and resources for trafficking victims have been directed towards adults rather than children. Researchers agree that there is a growing number of sexually exploited and trafficked children in the United States yet few programs emphasize the unique experiences and special needs of this population. This article examines commercial sexual exploitation of children; differentiates the needs and problems between child prostitution and victims of human trafficking; reviews and critiques current treatment practices; and summarizes challenges and successes in working with child victims of human trafficking, offering practice and policy recommendations.Child victims of human trafficking Human trafficking victims and child welfare

Mental health need and service use among Latino children of immigrants in the child welfare system

Despite the rapid growth of the Latino population in the child welfare system and the high rate of mental health need among children involved with this system, little is known about the mental health needs or use of mental health services among Latino children of immigrants involved with this system. Further, little is known about how the need for mental health services or use of those services differs from children of U.S.-born Latinos. This study analyzes data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW) to identify the need for mental health services, mental health service use, and unmet mental health needs among Latino children of immigrants involved in the child welfare system, and compares those factors to those of children in U.S.-born Latino families. Findings indicate that significant differences are present, both in the need for mental health services and the use of those services. Awareness of these differences is necessary to effectively respond to the unique needs and experiences of Latino immigrant children and families who come to the attention of the child welfare system.Latinos Immigrants Children Child welfare Mental health National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW)

Examining Difference in Immigration Stress, Acculturation Stress and Mental Health Outcomes in Six Hispanic/Latino Nativity and Regional Groups

Little is known about the specific behavioral health impact of acculturation stressors that affect Hispanic/Latino immigrant sub-groups. These immigration-related stressors and traumatic events may have differential impact on depression depending on country/region of origin. Using a measure of immigration and acculturation stress, the current study sought to determine differences in the impact of stress on six sub-groups of Hispanic immigrants. Data on stress and depression were examined using a large, representative adult immigrant sample (N = 641). Controlling for age, gender and years in the US, factorial analysis of covariance revealed significant differences on total Hispanic Stress Inventory 2 (HSI2) stress appraisal scores based on country/region of origin. Pair wise comparisons between country/region of origin groups revealed that Mexicans had higher levels of stress compared to Cuban or Dominican immigrants. Several patterns of differential stress were also found within sub-domains of the HSI2. Using regression models, HSI2 stress appraisals and their interaction with country of origin proved to not be significant predictors of depression (PHQ9), while gender and age were significant. Differences in HSI2 stress that are based on nativity may be moderated by cultural resilience that ultimately serves a protective role to prevent the onset of depression