TY - JOUR
T1 - Behavioral Functioning among Mexican-origin Children
T2 - Does Parental Legal Status Matter?
AU - Landale, Nancy S.
AU - Hardie, Jessica Halliday
AU - Oropesa, R. S.
AU - Hillemeier, Marianne M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© American Sociological Association 2015.
PY - 2015/3/16
Y1 - 2015/3/16
N2 - Using data on 2,535 children included in the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey, we investigate how the legal status of immigrant parents shapes their children’s behavioral functioning. Variation in internalizing and externalizing problems among Mexican youth with undocumented mothers, documented or naturalized citizen mothers, and U.S.-born mothers is analyzed using a comparative framework that contrasts their experience with that of other ethnoracial groups. Our findings reinforce the importance of differentiating children of immigrants by parental legal status in studying health and well-being. Children of undocumented Mexican migrants have significantly higher risks of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems than their counterparts with documented or naturalized citizen mothers. Regression results are inconsistent with simple explanations that emphasize group differences in socioeconomic status, maternal mental health, or family routines.
AB - Using data on 2,535 children included in the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey, we investigate how the legal status of immigrant parents shapes their children’s behavioral functioning. Variation in internalizing and externalizing problems among Mexican youth with undocumented mothers, documented or naturalized citizen mothers, and U.S.-born mothers is analyzed using a comparative framework that contrasts their experience with that of other ethnoracial groups. Our findings reinforce the importance of differentiating children of immigrants by parental legal status in studying health and well-being. Children of undocumented Mexican migrants have significantly higher risks of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems than their counterparts with documented or naturalized citizen mothers. Regression results are inconsistent with simple explanations that emphasize group differences in socioeconomic status, maternal mental health, or family routines.
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U2 - 10.1177/0022146514567896
DO - 10.1177/0022146514567896
M3 - Article
C2 - 25722124
AN - SCOPUS:84924905555
SN - 0022-1465
VL - 56
SP - 2
EP - 18
JO - Journal of health and social behavior
JF - Journal of health and social behavior
IS - 1
ER -