Ethnic density effects on psychological distress among Latino ethnic groups: An examination of hypothesized pathways

Laia Bécares

doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2014.09.010

Laia Bécares

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2014.09.010

Copy DOI

Abstract

Studies among US Latinos provide the most consistent evidence of ethnic density effects. However, most studies conducted to date have focused on Mexican Americans, and it is not clear whether ethnic density effects differ across Latino sub-groups, generational status, or measures of ethnic density. In addition, the mechanisms behind ethnic density are not well understood. This study uses a multi-group structural equation modeling approach to analyze the Latino sample from the National Latino and Asian-American Study (n=1940) and examine ethnic density effects on psychological distress among Latino sub-groups, and explore two hypothesized mechanisms: increased neighborhood cohesion and reduced exposure to interpersonal racism. Results of the main effects between ethnic density and health, and of the hypothesized mechanisms, show clear differences across Latino ethnic groups, generational categories and measures of ethnic density. Findings highlight that ethnic density effects and their mechanisms depend on the current and historical context of Latino sub-groups, including reasons for migration and rights upon arrival.

Highlights

It is well established that living in deprived neighborhoods is associated with increased mortality and morbidity, independent of individual-level attributes (Pickett and Pearl, 2001; Riva et al, 2007)
Cuban respondents lived in areas with a higher concentration of these two measures of ethnic density, people of Mexican origin had the widest range of Latino ethnic density, from 2% up to 88%
The range of own ethnic density differed across Latino sub-groups, the highest being for Mexican Americans, and the lowest for Puerto Ricans

Summary

Introduction

It is well established that living in deprived neighborhoods is associated with increased mortality and morbidity, independent of individual-level attributes (Pickett and Pearl, 2001; Riva et al, 2007). Studies that have examined the association between the concentration of ethnic minorities in a neighborhood (ethnic density) and health, while adequately adjusting for area deprivation, have reported that increased ethnic density is often associated with improved health among ethnic minority residents (Bécares et al, 2012b; Shaw et al, 2012), a phenomena termed the ethnic density effect. The other study found a suggestion of a protective effect on preterm birth for Spanish Caribbean and Central American mothers living in New York City, but not for South American women (Mason et al, 2011). This difference in findings may reflect the heterogeneity within the broad US Latino categorization. The Latino population is composed of a variety of different sub-groups, with the major groups being Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban Americans, respectively encompassing the 63%, 9.2% and 3.5% of all Latinos (Ennis et al, 2011)

Methods

Results

Conclusion