First-generation Children Research Articles

Does ethnicity influence bone health index in children? A pilot study.

Several pathological conditions can lead to variations in bone mineral content during growth. When assessing bone age, bone mineral content can be estimated without supplementary cost and irradiation. Manual assessment of bone quality using the Exton-Smith index (ESI) and automated assessment of the bone health index (BHI) provided by the BoneXpert® software are available but still not validated in different ethnic groups. Our aim is to provide normative values of the ESI and BHI for healthy European Caucasian and first-generation children of North Africans living in Europe. A sex- and aged-match population of 214 girls (107 European-Caucasian and 107 North African) and 220 boys (111 European-Caucasian and 109 North African) were retrospectively and consecutively included in the study. Normal radiographs of the left hand and wrist from healthy children were retrieved from those performed in a single institution from 2008 to 2017 to rule out a left-hand fracture. Radiographs were processed by BoneXpert® to obtain the BHI and BHI standard deviation score (SDS). One radiologist, blinded to BHI values, manually calculated ESI for each patient. The variability for both methods was assessed and compared using the standard deviation (SD) of the median (%) for each class of age and sex, and ESI and BHI trends were compared by sex and ethnic group. The final population comprised 434 children ages 3 to 15 years (214 girls). Overall, BHI was lower in North African children (mean = 4.23 for girls and 4.17 in boys) than in European Caucasians (mean = 4.50 for girls and 4.68 in boys) (P < 0.001). Regardless of ethnicity, 29 girls (13.6%) and 34 boys (15.5%) had BHI more than 2 SD from the mean. While correlated to BHI, ESI has a higher variability than BHI and is more pronounced from 8-12 years for both sexes (mean ESI in European Caucasian girls and boys17.47 and 20.87, respectively) (P < 0.001). ESI showed more than 15% variability in European girls from 8-12 years and a plateau in North African boys from 12 yearsto 16 years. However, the BHI has less than 15% variability regardless of age and ethnic group. BHI may be a reliable tool to detect children with abnormal bone mineral content, with lower variability compared to ESI andwith specific trends depending on sex and ethnicity.

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder among children of immigrants: immigrant generation and family poverty

ABSTRACT Objectives: Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common disorders diagnosed among children in the US. However, little knowledge is available about ADHD prevalence among children of immigrants, the fastest-growing population in the US. This study seeks to examine ADHD rates among children of immigrants in different generations compared to children of US-born parents and their association with family poverty. Design: The sample includes 83,362 children aged 0–17 from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2010–2018 data. Multivariate logistic regression model is used to estimate prevalence of ADHD among children of immigrants compared to children of US-born parents. We then compare ADHD rates among the children sample in different immigrant generations. For all analyses, we examine ADHD occurrence separately for children in families living below the poverty threshold and those at or above the poverty threshold. Results: The odds of having ADHD were significantly lower among children of immigrants compared to children of US-born parents. Both first-generation children and second-generation children of immigrants had significantly lower odds of having ADHD than children of US-born parents. Post hoc tests find that first-generation children had lower odds of having ADHD compared to second-generation children. Likewise, additional analyses showed that children of immigrants, first-generation children in particular, were less likely to have ADHD compared to children of US-born parents, in both lower- and higher-income families. Conclusion: Using a nationally representative sample of children, we find that the likelihood of having ADHD increases with higher generations, detecting differences in ADHD prevalence by immigration generation. Importantly, first-generation children had a significantly lower risk of having ADHD conditions compared to second-generation children and children of US-born parents, regardless of family socio-economic status. Public health policy and program development would gain from a clear comprehension of the shielding attributes of ADHD among immigrant families.

Immigrant proportion and ethno-linguistic diversity in the classroom: consequences for children’s well-being, social integration, and academic competencies

ABSTRACT The educational system is a crucial arena for the integration of the children of immigrants. We study the consequences of the presence of students with a migration background on various student outcomes, overall and distinguishing among natives, second- and first-generation children. We focus on Italy, a country that experienced a rapid increase in the presence of children of immigrants in school. First, we analyze not only students’ competencies but also their well-being and social integration. Second, we investigate the joint effects of two dimensions of migrants’ presence in the classroom: immigrant proportion and ethnolinguistic diversity. Third, we develop a design to make exposure to a level of immigrant proportion and ethnolinguistic diversity conditionally random. We use data collected by the National Institute for the Evaluation of the Italian School System on the entire population of students enrolled in the fifth grade in 2014–15. Our findings suggest that the immigrant proportion and ethno-linguistic diversity in the classroom have limited detrimental effects; their minor effects are widely independent of each other and approximately linear. The impact is tiny and appears to be concentrated exclusively on first-generation students. Implications for theoretical debate and educational policies are discussed in relation to the findings.

Non-intact Families and Children’s Educational Outcomes: Comparing Native and Migrant Pupils

This study explores whether the association between living in a single-parent household and children’s educational outcomes differs by migration background through comparing natives with first- and second-generation migrant pupils from different areas of origin. While there is strong evidence of an educational gap between migrant and native pupils in Western countries—and particularly in Italy—the interaction with family structure has been under-investigated. We suggest that native children have more socioeconomic resources to lose as a consequence of parental breakups, and thus may experience more negative consequences from living in a single-parent household compared to migrant children, who tend to have poorer educational outcomes regardless of family disruptions. Moreover, for migrant children, family disruption could result from parents’ migratory project (transnationalism) rather than separation or divorce, thus not necessarily implying parental conflict and a deteriorating family environment. Empirical analyses of data from the ISTAT ‘Integration of the Second Generation’ survey (2015) show that native Italian pupils from single-parent households in lower secondary schools are more strongly penalised in terms of grades, and less likely to aspire to the most prestigious upper secondary tracks when compared to second- and, especially, first-generation children. Indeed, the latter have been found to experience virtually no negative consequences from parental absence. Contrary to expectations, we found no substantial differences in the non-intact penalty based on the reason for parental absence (transnationalism vs divorce), nor by migrants’ area of origin.

Immigrant entrepreneurs’ influence on the career paths of their children

There is a gap in the research describing how the entrepreneurial spirit of parents who have successfully immigrated can be imprinted onto their children and influence their career paths. The objective of this study is to bridge these two points and examine how these entrepreneurs have guided the career paths of their first-generation children, from the child’s perception. This study aims to benefit society by documenting how first-generation Canadians perceive their parents to have contributed to their future career paths. A survey will be administered to 15 undergraduate students that are born in Canada with at least one parent born outside of Canada that owns and operates a business. The survey assesses each participant on externally validated surveys of entrepreneurial personality aspects (risk aversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience) to normalize participants on a scale of entrepreneurial orientation. Participants will then be interviewed about their career aspirations, their parent(s’) career(s), expectations from their parent(s), and their parent(s’) encouragement or discouragement of following the same parental career. The principal goal is to develop a theory of entrepreneurial transfer from parent to child that will involve (i) the effect their parents’ journey had on their choices and opinions towards entrepreneurship, (ii) the extent of the child’s desire or lack thereof to follow the career path most approved by their immigrant parents, and (iii) their underlying reasons for the acceptance or rejection of their parents’ desires for their careers.

Prevalence of Mental Health Disorders Among Immigrant, Refugee, and Nonimmigrant Children and Youth in British Columbia, Canada

There remains limited understanding of population-level patterns of mental disorder prevalence for first- and second-generation immigrant and refugee children and youth and how such patterns may vary across mental disorders. To examine the diagnostic prevalence of conduct, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and mood/anxiety disorders in immigrant, refugee, and nonimmigrant children and youth in British Columbia, Canada. This retrospective, population-level cohort study examined linked health administrative records of children and youth in British Columbia (birth to age 19 years) spanning 2 decades (1996-2016). Physician billings, hospitalizations, and drug dispensations were linked to immigration records to estimate time-in-British Columbia-adjusted prevalence of mental disorder diagnosis among children and youth from immigrant or refugee backgrounds compared with those from nonimmigrant backgrounds. Analyses were conducted from August 2020 to November 2021. The diagnostic prevalence of conduct, ADHD, and mood/anxiety disorders were the main outcomes. Results were stratified by migration category (immigrant, refugee, nonimmigrant), generation status (first- and second-generation), age, and sex. A total of 470 464 children and youth in British Columbia were included in the study (227 217 [48.3%] female). Nonimmigrant children and youth represented 65.5% of the total study population (307 902 individuals). Among those who migrated, 142 011 (87.8%) were first- or second-generation immigrants, and 19 686 (12.2%) were first- or second-generation refugees. Diagnostic prevalence of mental disorders varied by migration category, generation status, age, and sex. Children and youth from immigrant and refugee backgrounds (both first- and second-generation), compared with nonimmigrant youth, generally had a lower prevalence of conduct disorder (eg, age 6-12 years: first-generation immigrant, 2.72% [95% CI, 2.56%-2.90%] vs nonimmigrant, 7.03% [95% CI, 6.93%-7.13%]), ADHD (eg, age 6-12 years: first-generation immigrant, 4.30% [95% CI, 4.10%-4.51%] vs nonimmigrant, 9.20% [95% CI, 9.08%-9.31%]), and mood/anxiety disorders (eg, age 13-19 years: first-generation immigrant, 11.07% [95% CI, 10.80%-11.36%] vs nonimmigrant, 24.54% [95% CI, 24.34%-24.76%]). Among immigrant children and youth, second-generation children and youth generally showed higher prevalence of conduct, ADHD, and mood/anxiety disorders than first-generation children and youth (eg, ADHD among second-generation immigrants aged 6-12 years, 5.94% [95% CI, 5.75%-6.14%]; among first-generation immigrants aged 6-12 years, 4.30% [95% CI, 4.10%-4.51%]). Second-generation refugee children had the highest diagnostic prevalence estimates for mood/anxiety in the 3-to-5-year age range relative to first- and second-generation immigrant and nonimmigrant children (eg, second-generation refugee, 2.58% [95% CI, 2.27%-2.94%] vs second-generation immigrant, 1.78% [95% CI, 1.67%-1.89%]). Mental disorder diagnoses also varied by age and sex within immigrant, refugee, and nonimmigrant groups. These findings show differences in diagnostic mental disorder prevalence among first- and second-generation immigrant and refugee children and youth relative to nonimmigrant children and youth. Further investigation is required into how cultural differences and barriers in accessing health services may be contributing to these differences.

Unequal From the Start? Poverty Across Immigrant Generations of Hispanic Children.

Recent cohorts of U.S. children increasingly consist of immigrants or the immediate descendants of immigrants, a demographic shift that has been implicated in high rates of child poverty. Analyzing data from the 2014-2018 Current Population Survey and using the U.S. Census Bureau's Supplemental Poverty Measure, we describe differences in child poverty rates across immigrant generations and assess how these disparities are rooted in generational differences in the prevalence and impact of key poverty risk factors. Our estimates show that poverty rates among Hispanic children are very high, particularly among first-generation children and second-generation children with two foreign-born parents. Low family employment is the most significant risk factor for poverty, but the prevalence of this risk varies little across immigrant generations. Differences in parental education account for the greatest share of observed intergenerational disparities in child poverty. Supplemental comparisons with third+-generation non-Hispanic White children underscore the disadvantages faced by all Hispanic children, highlighting the continued salience of race and ethnicity within the U.S. stratification system. Understanding the role of immigrant generation vis-à-vis other dimensions of inequality has significant policy implications given that America's population continues to grow more diverse along multiple social axes.

Impact of the First Generation of Children's Oncology Group Clinical Trials on Clinical Practice for Wilms Tumor.

Refinements in surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy since the mid-20th century have resulted in a survival rate exceeding 90% for patients with Wilms tumor (WT). Although this figure is remarkable, a significant proportion of patients continue to have event-free survival (EFS) estimates of <75%, and nearly 25% of survivors experience severe chronic medical conditions. The first-generation Children's Oncology Group (COG) renal tumor trials (AREN '0'), which opened to enrollment in 2006, focused on augmenting treatment regimens for WT subgroups with predicted EFS <75% to 80%, including those with the adverse prognostic marker of combined loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at chromosomes 1p/16q, pulmonary metastasis with incomplete lung nodule response after 6 weeks of chemotherapy, bilateral disease, and anaplastic histology. Conversely, therapy was reduced for patient subgroups with good outcomes and potential for long-term toxicity, such as those with lung metastasis with complete lung nodule response after 6 weeks of chemotherapy. This article summarizes the key findings of the first-generation COG renal tumor studies and their implications for clinical practice.

Morphosyntactic Development in First Generation Arabic—English Children: The Effect of Cognitive, Age, and Input Factors over Time and across Languages

This longitudinal study examined morphosyntactic development in the heritage Arabic-L1 and English-L2 of first-generation Syrian refugee children (mean age = 9.5; range = 6–13) within their first three years in Canada. Morphosyntactic abilities were measured using sentence repetition tasks (SRTs) in English and Syrian Arabic that included diverse morphosyntactic structures. Direct measures of verbal and non-verbal cognitive skills were obtained, and a parent questionnaire provided the age at L2 acquisition onset (AOA) and input variables. We found the following: Dominance in the L1 was evident at both time periods, regardless of AOA, and growth in bilingual abilities was found over time. Cognitive skills accounted for substantial variance in SRT scores in both languages and at both times. An older AOA was associated with superior SRT scores at Time−1 for both languages, but at Time-2, older AOA only contributed to superior SRT scores in Arabic. Using the L2 with siblings gave a boost to English at Time−1 but had a negative effect on Arabic at Time-2. We conclude that first-generation children show strong heritage-L1 maintenance early on, and individual differences in cognitive skills have stable effects on morphosyntax in both languages over time, but age and input factors have differential effects on each language and over time.

Primary healthcare usage and use of medications among immigrant children according to age of arrival to Norway: a population-based study

BackgroundMorbidity, use of healthcare and medication use have been reported to vary across groups of migrants and according to the different phases of migration, but little is known about children...

Comparison of intelligence quotients of first- and second-generation deaf children with cochlear implants

Hearing impairment is a common type of sensory loss in children. Studies indicate that children with hearing impairment are deficient in social, cognitive and communication skills. This study compared the intelligence quotients of first- and second-generation deaf children with cochlear implants. This research is causal-comparative. All 15 deaf children investigated had deaf parents and were selected from Baqiyatallah Cochlear Implant Center. The 15 children with cochlear implants were paired with similar children with hearing parents using purposive sampling. The findings show that the Hotelling trace of multivariate analysis of variance (F = 6.78, p < 0.01, ηP2 = 0.73) was significant. The tests of between-subjects effects for second-generation children was significantly higher than for first-generation children for all intelligence scales except knowledge. It can be assumed that second-generation children joined their family in the use of sign language as the primary experience before a cochlear implant. The use of sign language before cochlear implants is recommended.

Generational status, neighborhood context, and mother-child resemblance in dietary quality in Mexican-origin families

Children of immigrants in the United States often grow up in very different nutrition environments than their parents. As a result, parent-child concordance in diet may be particularly weak in immigrant families. Yet, little is known about parent-child dietary resemblance in immigrant families and how local contexts shape it. This study uses data from the 1999/2000-2009/2010 Continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to examine mother-child resemblance in dietary quality in Mexican-origin families in the United States. We investigate how immigrant generational status and neighborhood context shape the association between mothers' and children's dietary quality. We find that mother-child resemblance in dietary quality is weaker for first-generation children relative to third-generation children. However, residence in an immigrant enclave strengthens the mother-child association in dietary quality for first-generation children. Findings offer a unique within-family perspective of immigrant health. Results suggest that the healthy eating advantage of Mexican immigrant mothers may not be sustained across family generations and that Mexican immigrant mothers may face unique challenges in promoting healthy eating among their children.

‘When I think home I think family here and there’: Translocal and social ideas of home in narratives of migrant children and young people

This paper offers theoretically informed empirical insights into migrant children’s experiences of mobility and home. Drawing on research into the first-generation children of Polish labour migrants in Scotland, the paper explores the meanings that children attach to home and other specific places. In particular, it focuses on questions of the translocal and social nature of migrant children’s sense of place and construction of home. The spoken narratives, subjective maps and drawings analysed here reflect children’s multiple and intersecting relationships and identifications, with both their country of origin and the host country, in addition to how their notion of home is grounded in social attachments. Emphasising the continuing importance of ‘place’ in migrant children and young people’s everyday experiences, the research concludes that subjective homemaking practices are just as important as objective educational attainment and other traditional social indicators in providing an understanding of the outcomes of migrant settlement. It also suggests that there is an emerging translocal identity among some young Polish migrants, whose changing understanding of home incorporates images and emotions from both their locality of origin and their current place of residence.

E029 Parental's view of children with cochlear implant: developmental and educational aspects

Hearing impairment is a common type of sensory loss in children. Studies indicate that children with hearing impairment are deficient in social, cognitive and communication skills. This study compared the intelligence quotients of first- and second-generation deaf children with cochlear implants. This research is causal-comparative. All 15 deaf children investigated had deaf parents and were selected from Baqiyatallah Cochlear Implant Center. The 15 children with cochlear implants were paired with similar children with hearing parents using purposive sampling. The findings show that the Hotelling trace of multivariate analysis of variance (F = 6.78, p < 0.01, ηP2 = 0.73) was significant. The tests of between-subjects effects for second-generation children was significantly higher than for first-generation children for all intelligence scales except knowledge. It can be assumed that second-generation children joined their family in the use of sign language as the primary experience before a cochlear implant. The use of sign language before cochlear implants is recommended.

Familial Influences on Poverty Among Young Children in Black Immigrant, U.S.-born Black, and Nonblack Immigrant Families

This study examines how familial contexts affect poverty disparities between the children of immigrant and U.S.-born blacks, and among black and nonblack children of immigrants. Despite lower gross child poverty rates in immigrant than in U.S.-born black families, accounting for differences in family structure reveals that child poverty risks among blacks are highest in single-parent black immigrant families. In addition, within two-parent immigrant families, child poverty declines associated with increasing assimilation are greater than the respective declines in single-parent families. The heads of black immigrant households have more schooling than those of native-black households. However, increased schooling has a weaker negative association with child poverty among the former than among the latter. In terms of racial disparities among the children of immigrants, poverty rates are higher among black than nonblack children. This black disadvantage is, however, driven by the outcomes of first-generation children of African and Hispanic-black immigrants. The results also show that although children in refugee families face elevated poverty risks, these risks are higher among black than among nonblack children of refugees. In addition, the poverty-reducing impact associated with having an English-proficient household head is about three times lower among black children of immigrants than among non-Hispanic white children of immigrants.

“Mi'ja, You Should Be a Writer”: Latino Parental Support of Their First-Generation Children

This retrospective interview study investigated the role of parental support in the writing growth of eight first-generation Latino college students in the years prior to admission to a 4-year university. All of the students came from low-income households in urban settings and spoke zero English at the time they entered kindergarten. Participants provided a nuanced view of the ways parents simultaneously provided support and barriers to their writing growth prior to college. This article suggests the need for teachers and researchers to reexamine assumptions about the literacy experiences first-generation Latinos bring to the undergraduate writing curriculum from their home communities.

Is the prevalence and level of astigmatism different in indigenous Bangladeshi children compared with first-generation children of Bangladeshi origin born in the United Kingdom?

Aim: To compare the prevalence and level of astigmatism in indigenous Bangladeshi, first-generation British-Bangladeshi and indigenous white British children. Method: Indigenous Bangladeshi, first-generation British-Bangladeshi and indigenous white British children, aged 6–10 years, were recruited from within six London primary schools in the borough of Tower Hamlets. Each child’s refractive error was measured using the Plusoptix autorefractor without cycloplegia. Three readings were taken for each child and averaged to give the mean value for astigmatism. Results: One hundred and thirty-eight (12.8%) positive responses were received in total. Of these, 80 (57%) children fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Fifty-eight (42%) children were rejected because full parental consent was not given for 15 children, 32 children did not fulfil the strict ethnic criteria of the study and 11 children were not within the age range of the study. Eighteen children who fulfilled the criteria were absent from school on the day of testing. In total 62 (45%) children were tested. Analysis showed there was no significant difference in the amount of astigmatism for the right eye (x 2 = 2.306, d.f. = 2, p = 0.316) or left eye (x 2 = 2.935, d.f. = 2, p = 0.231) across the three groups. Conclusion: There was no significant difference in the amount of astigmatism for the right and left eye between indigenous Bangladeshi, first-generation British-Bangladeshi and white-British children aged 6–10 years old. However, due to the small number of children recruited there was limited power to detect any significant differences in the findings.

From the family universe to the outside world: Family relations, school attitude, and perception of racism in Caribbean and Filipino adolescents

Caribbean and Filipino immigrant families in Canada have much in common: the women have often immigrated as domestic workers, first-generation children may be separated from their parents for long periods, and they must deal with negative stereotypes of their ethnic group. This transcultural study looks at the associations between family relations and adolescents’ perceptions of both their own group and the host society, and analyzes how these affect their mental health. The results suggest that family cohesion plays a key role in shaping adolescents’ perceptions of racism in the host country and in promoting a positive appraisal of their own community, thus highlighting the need for a systemic understanding of family and intergroup relations.

Immigrant generation, socioeconomic status, and economic development of countries of origin: A longitudinal study of body mass index among children

Prior research has yielded mixed evidence of a relationship between immigrant generational status or acculturation and overweight or obesity among children of immigrants. This study examined socioeconomic status (SES) and economic development of the sending country as additional factors influencing children body mass index (BMI) and as moderating the relationship between parental generational status and BMI. Using data from the kindergarten cohort of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey ( N=16,664 children) carried out in the USA, the research estimated growth curve models and tested the significance of interaction terms between generational status (i.e., children of the 1.0 generation, who arrived at age 12 or older; children of the 1.5 generation, who arrived between the ages of birth and 11; and children of natives), SES, and the country of origin's gross domestic product per capita. Results indicate that the children of the 1.0 generation from higher-income countries tended to gain more weight than children from lower-income countries. The relationship between family SES and weight gain was positive among the first-generation children and stronger among those from lower-income countries than from higher-income countries. Weight gain was positively associated with generation only among lower SES children from low-income countries. It was negatively associated with generation for higher SES children from low-income countries. The results are consistent with a conceptual model of BMI assimilation that links global nutrition patterns to the levels and socioeconomic variations in BMI among the 1.0-generation and their children, and conceptualizes assimilation as occurring within socioeconomic strata. This approach leads to the expectation that overweight is likely to be positively associated with generation among those from low-income countries (as measured by GDP/capita) with low SES but negatively associated among those from low-income countries with high SES.

History, entertainment, education and jiaoyü

Cultural citizenship is a concept that allows analysis of media product to acknowledge differing modes of reception and interpretation within a single nation-scape. When complemented by the notion of cultural competency, it is possible to use this concept to examine the levels of interpretative entry into dominant but implicit versions of the citizen in national media. This argument claims that first-generation migrant children in a settler society, such as Australia, are important negotiators between different cultural competencies and, by implication, different formulations of cultural citizenship. In the case study presented in this article, first-generation children of Chinese mainland migrant parents are both negotiators and sites of parental anxiety in relation to the new place of residency, its value systems and its measures of cultural and civic competency. History, education and remembered cultural norms become bones of contention in the process of media consumption.