Adolescent precursors of early union formation among Asian American and Whites

This study investigates the relatively low rates of early marriage and cohabitation among Asian Americans compared to Whites. With an emphasis on family value socialization and other precursors measured in adolescence, data from Waves 1 and 3 of Add Health are used to test five hypotheses. Analyses of early marriage indicate that the Asian-White difference is driven primarily by differences in adolescent sexual and romantic relationship experiences, and several measures of family values play a stronger role among Asian Americans than Whites. Asian-White differences in cohabitation persist net of SES and other adolescent precursors, but differences are attenuated when parental value socialization, intimate relationship experiences, and educational investments are controlled. These results are interpreted within a culturally sensitive conceptual framework that emphasizes independent versus interdependent construals of the self.America

Teen overweight, weight stigma, and intimate relationship development from adolescence to young adulthood

With an emphasis on how weight stigma is manifested in social relationship context, this study explores two under-studied consequences of adolescent overweight, timing of first sex and subsequent intimate relationship development. The data employed come from Waves I to III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The results indicate that overweight adolescents have significantly later onset of first sex and are more likely to enter early adulthood without any intimate relationship experience when compared to normal-weight youth. Overweight adolescents are vulnerable to discriminatory treatments such as being rejected by or having less close relationships with peers and are thus less likely to have any intimate relationship. The study contributes to the existing literature on overweight youth by revealing the critical role of prejudiced social encounters in peer relationships as the key context that hinders the development of intimate relationships from adolescence to early adulthood. Future studies should seek to understand the broader implications of poor social adjustments during adolescence for later development.

What does skin color have to do with infant health? An analysis of low birth weight among mainland and island Puerto Ricans

This study investigates the relationship between maternal skin tone and low birth weight among Puerto Ricans, a group with a complex ancestry and skin tones that range from very light to very dark. Using data from a representative sample of Puerto Rican mothers, we assess whether skin tone has different implications for low birth weight in three geographic areas (Puerto Rico; New York City; other eastern states). The analysis shows that skin tone is unrelated to low birth weight in Puerto Rico and New York City. However, in the other eastern states in our sample, mothers with dark skin have a high risk of bearing a low birth-weight infant, relative to mothers with light skin. We interpret our findings in light of differences in the social meaning of phenotypic differences across locales.Infant health Skin tone Puerto Rico USA

How does legal status matter for oral health care among Mexican-origin children in California?

This research examines the relationship between legal status and oral health care among Mexican-origin children. Using the 2001–2014 California Health Interview Surveys, the objectives are: (1) to demonstrate population-level changes in the legal statuses of parents, the legal statuses of children, and the likelihood of receiving dental care; (2) to reveal how the roles of legal status boundaries in dental care are changing; and (3) to determine whether the salience of these boundaries is attributable to legal status per se. The results reveal increases in the native-born share and dental care utilization for the total Mexican-origin population. Although dental care was primarily linked to parental citizenship early in this period, parental legal statuses are no longer a unique source of variation in utilization (despite the greater likelihood of insurance among citizens). These results imply that future gains in utilization among Mexican-origin children will mainly come from overcoming barriers to care among the native born

Nativity Differences in Mothers’ Health Behaviors

There are striking advantages in birth outcomes and infant health among the children of foreign-born mothers (Hummer et al. 1999; Landale, Oropesa and Gorman 1999). Similarly, the occurrence of infant mortality and low birth weight is significantly lower among foreign-born, Hispanic mothers than would be expected on the basis of their socioeconomic resources (Hummer et al. 1999). This evidence has led to hypotheses about an “immigrant paradox,” complementing evidence of a “Latino mortality paradox” among adults, whereby Latino adults experience lower rates of many diseases than non-Latino whites, as well as higher life expectancy (Abraido-Lanza et al. 1999). Most research on the health behavior of immigrant mothers comes from work in the United States, particularly among Latin-American populations. The benefits of existing research notwithstanding, an examination of one ethnic group or country of origin cannot highlight ethnic stratification in the degree of immigrant families’ advantage. In addition, much existing work uses cross-sectional data and focuses on the period around birth, prohibiting an adequate test of the theory of unhealthy acculturation. In this article we extend existing research by asking 1) whether the advantage in immigrant mothers’ health behavior extends to immigrant mothers in several ethnic groups in the United Kingdom, and 2) whether the advantage persists beyond infancy. Focusing on mothers’ health behaviors, we compare immigrant mothers to their native-born ethnic counterparts as well as to native-born whites, using data from two large, longitudinal birth cohort surveys—the U.S. Fragile Families Study and the U.K. Millennium Cohort Study. These data are particularly well suited for studying immigrant mothers over time because of their diverse samples, high response rates and longitudinal designs. Revealing the early origins of inequality in the health environments of immigrant and native-born families is an important step toward identifying critical periods of investment, especially as children in immigrant families comprise an increasing proportion of all children and adolescents (Hernandez 2004)