Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2012

Publication Title

Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Volume

34

Issue

2

First Page

187

Last Page

207

ISSN

1552-6364

DOI

10.1177/0739986312437552

Keywords

Latino paradox, economic status, citizenship status, health, ethnicity

Abstract

We examined the contributions of economic status (ES) and citizenship status to health differences between European Americans, Latino Americans, and non-citizen Latinos. The investigation was framed using social identity and comparison theories. Southern California residents (N = 2164) were randomly selected to complete a telephone interview. Increases in ES predicted health improvements for European Americans across ES levels. For Latino citizens and non-citizens, ES improvements had no effect on objective health. For subjective health, the Latino paradox existed at the lowest ES level for Latino Americans, and did not exist for non-citizens. For objective health, the paradox existed in both Latino groups at low ES, and additionally for Latino Americans at mid ES. Our findings suggest that compared to Latinos, improvements in ES have a stronger positive impact on the health of European Americans, which is likely due to the social comparisons being made by each cultural group.

Comments

This is the peer-reviewed version of the following article: Campbell, K., Garcia, D., Granillo, C., & Chavez, D. V. (2012). Exploring the Latino paradox: How socioeconomic and immigration status impact health. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 34 (2), 187-207, which was published online at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0739986312437552

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