Health and Young Adulthood: Does Immigrant Generational Status Matter?

Abstract

A substantial body of research in international migration focuses on the “immigrant health paradox” and the health benefits immigrants may experience because of it. Less examined are the health outcomes of immigrants’ children and later generations. Will the protective health benefit apply to child migrants and the children of immigrants? Will it endure as they transition to adulthood? Using two waves of data from the Na-tional Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, I examine the differences in health out-comes among young immigrants (1.5 generation), children of immigrants (2nd genera-tion), and native-born adolescents with native-born parents (3rd generation+). Self-reported health serves to measure health outcomes. I find that both Hispanic respon-dents and Hispanic second-generation respondents are more likely to report poor health

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