title: Segmented assimilation, neighborhood disadvantage, and Hispanic immigrant health.
abstract: We use a subset of Hispanics from the New Immigrant Survey, a nationally representative data set on immigrants recently granted legal permanent residency (n = 2245), to examine whether the relationship between assimilation and health is modified by neighborhood disadvantage and, in doing so, carry out an empirical test of the segmented assimilation hypothesis. Results indicate that assimilation in the least disadvantaged neighborhoods can be protective against poor health. Specifically, more assimilated men and women in the lowest disadvantage neighborhoods have a lower likelihood of self-reported poorer health and being overweight, respectively; no link was found in higher disadvantage neighborhoods. Assimilation was not found to be associated with self-reported health for women or BMI for men, regardless of neighborhood disadvantage level. Overall, we find some evidence supporting the hypothesis that the effects of assimilation on health depend on the context in which immigrants experience it.
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Sociology, 3120 Lincoln Hall 702 South Wright Street Urbana, IL 61801, USA. Electronic address: redstone@illinois.edu.
authors.forename: Ilana Redstone
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Akresh
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA.
authors.forename: D Phuong
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Do
authors.affiliation: The Ohio State University, USA.
authors.forename: Reanne
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Frank
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D000328:Adult; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D036262:Empirical Research; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006306:Health Surveys; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D050177:Overweight / Q000208:ethnology; D011204:Poverty Areas; D065840:Protective Factors; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057566:Self Report; D014481:United States
keywords: Assimilation; Immigrant health; Neighborhood disadvantage; Segmented assimilation