Comparison between non-immigrant and 2nd generation immigrant youth: Self-Reported Health Status, BMI, and Internal and External Resources

Cheryl Zlotnick, Inbal Manor-Lavon, Einav Srulovici

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Increasingly evidence suggests that the self-reported health status (SRH) of 2nd generation immigrant youth (native-born youth with at least one parent who was born abroad) may be lower than non-immigrant youth. This cross-sectional study compared the SRH of 2nd generation immigrant to non-immigrant youth (n = 291), accounting for confounders including a clinical measure (i.e., body mass index), internal resources (i.e., diet, exercise, smoking), and external resources (i.e., socioeconomic status, family social support). Regressions showed SRH was associated with socioeconomic status (p <.05), family social support (p <.05) and exercise (p <.05) but not immigrant status. Yet, bivariate analyses, showed that among youth, 2nd generation immigrants had poorer diets (p <.01), were smokers (p <.0001), had lower socioeconomic status (p <.05) and less family social support (p <.05). Thus, although SRH did not differ by immigration status among youth, the differences in internal and external resources by immigrant status may lead to health differences in the future.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3-22
Number of pages20
JournalYouth and Society
Volume54
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2020.

Keywords

  • acculturation
  • health
  • socioeconomic status/social class

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
  • Sociology and Political Science
  • General Social Sciences

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Comparison between non-immigrant and 2nd generation immigrant youth: Self-Reported Health Status, BMI, and Internal and External Resources'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this