Skip to main content
Disciplines
Automotive Business IT + Informatics Construction + Real Estate Electrical Engineering + Electronics Energy + Sustainability Insurance + Risk Finance + Banking Management + Leadership Marketing + Sales Mechanical Engineering + Materials
Events
DE
EN
Books
Journals
Topic Page
Marketing
Start single access now
Access for companies
EXTENDED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Demography
Published in: Demography 2/2011

01-05-2011

Simulating the Effects of Acculturation and Return Migration on the Maternal and Infant Health of Mexican Immigrants in the United States: A Research Note

Author: Miguel Ceballos

Published in: Demography | Issue 2/2011

Log in

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config
loading …

Abstract

A significant body of research on minority health shows that although Latino immigrants experience unexpectedly favorable outcomes in maternal and infant health, this advantage deteriorates with increased time of residence in the United States. This study evaluates the underlying assumptions of two competing hypotheses that explain this paradox. The first hypothesis attributes this deterioration to possible negative effects of acculturation and behavioral adjustments made by immigrants while living in the United States, and the second hypothesis attributes this deterioration to the mechanism of selective return migration. Hypothetical probabilistic models are simulated for assessing the relationship between duration and birth outcomes based on the assumptions of these two hypotheses. The results are compared with the empirical research on the maternal and infant health of first-generation, Mexican-origin immigrant women in the United States. The analysis provides evidence that a curvilinear pattern of duration and birth outcomes can be explained by the joint effects of both acculturation and selective return migration in which the former affects health status over the longer durations, and the latter affects health status at shorter durations.
previous article Individual Decisions to Migrate During Civil Conflict
next article Familial Influences on Poverty Among Young Children in Black Immigrant, U.S.-born Black, and Nonblack Immigrant Families

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 102.000 Bücher
  • über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
  • Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Versicherung + Risiko




Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Footnotes
1
Proportion of favorable outcomes equals https://static-content.springer.com/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs13524-011-0017-4/MediaObjects/13524_2011_17_Figa_HTML.gif .
 
2
Proportion of favorable outcomes in the case of acculturation effects equals https://static-content.springer.com/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs13524-011-0017-4/MediaObjects/13524_2011_17_Figb_HTML.gif .
 
3
The effect of acculturation is simulated using a logistic function: for the positive acculturation effects beginning at a low bound of P (0.937): https://static-content.springer.com/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs13524-011-0017-4/MediaObjects/13524_2011_17_Figc_HTML.gif , and its inverse for the negative acculturation effects beginning at an upper bound of P (0.963): https://static-content.springer.com/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs13524-011-0017-4/MediaObjects/13524_2011_17_Figd_HTML.gif . A linearized γ with similar parameters has little overall effect on the final results of this analysis (results not shown).
 
4
The ratio of the proportion of favorable outcomes for the selective return migration case equals https://static-content.springer.com/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs13524-011-0017-4/MediaObjects/13524_2011_17_Fige_HTML.gif , where F i and U i are equal to the number of cases with favorable outcomes and unfavorable outcomes, respectively, at time t = i.
 
5
The distribution of the return migration rates are based on the first, second, and fifth years of return migration in the Reyes (2001) study and simulate the following inverse exponential functions: (a) high, μ i  = 0.33e –t(i); (b) medium, μ i  = 0.28e –t(i); and (c) low, μ i  = 0.07e –t(i). The Van Hook et al. (2006) study distinguishes between the “emigration rate” (those who return to Mexico and stay) and the “return migration rate” (those who make multiple return trips). The return migration estimates used for this simulation is a combination of both rates.
 
6
Constant values for λ are assigned as follows: high λ = .99, medium-high λ = .98, medium-low λ = .94, and low λ = .92. Although it may be the case that λ changes over time, the results show only a slight difference from a constant λ for all cases except where λ declines from .99 to .92. (See Fig. 4 in Online Resource 1.) However, these differences have little effect on the final results (results available upon request.
 
7
The distribution of the joint effects of acculturation and selective return migration equals: https://static-content.springer.com/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs13524-011-0017-4/MediaObjects/13524_2011_17_Figf_HTML.gif , where F i – 1(γ i ) and U i–1(γ i ) equal F i–1 and U i–1, respectively, with a probability of favorable outcomes of γ i P at time t = i.
 
8
See Figs. 5–7 in Online Resource 1 for results of joint simulations showing similar patterns, given various assumptions.
 
Literature
Abraido-Lanza, A. F., Dohrenwend, B. P., Ng-Mak, D. S., & Turner, J. B. (1999). The Latino mortality paradox: A test of the “salmon bias” and healthy migrant hypotheses. American Journal of Public Health, 89, 1543–1548.CrossRef
Acevedo-Garcia, D., Soobader, M.-J., & Berkman, L. F. (2007). Low birthweight among US Hispanic/Latino subgroups: The effect of maternal foreign-born status and education. Social Science & Medicine, 65, 2503–2516.CrossRef
Ahmed, B. J. G. R. (1994). Estimates of emigration of the foreign-born population: 1980–1990 (Working Paper No. 9). Washington, DC: Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau.
Akresh, I. R., & Frank, R. (2008). Health selection among new immigrants. American Journal of Public Health, 98, 2058–2064.CrossRef
Alba, R., & Nee, V. (1997). Rethinking assimilation theory for a new era of immigration. International Migration Review, 31, 826–874.CrossRef
Balcazar, H., & Krull, J. L. (1999). Determinants of birth-weight outcomes among Mexican-American women: Examining conflicting results about acculturation. Ethnicity & Disease, 9, 410–422.
Callister, L. C., & Birkhead, A. (2002). Acculturation and perinatal outcomes in Mexican immigrant childbearing women: An integrative review. Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing, 16(3), 22–38.
Ceballos, M., & Palloni, A. (2010). Maternal and infant health of Mexican immigrants in the USA: The effect of acculturation, duration, and selection return migration. Ethnicity & Health, 15, 377–396.CrossRef
Collins, J. W., Jr., & David, R. J. (2004). Pregnancy outcome of Mexican-American women: The effect of generational residence in the United States. Ethnicity & Disease, 14, 317–321.
de la Rosa, I. A. (2002). Perinatal outcomes among Mexican Americans: A review of an epidemiological paradox. Ethnicity & Disease, 12, 480–487.
Durden, T. E. (2007). Nativity, duration of residence, citizenship, and access to health care for Hispanic children. International Migration Review, 41, 537–545.CrossRef
English, P. B., Kharrazi, M., & Guendelman, S. (1997). Pregnancy outcomes and risk factors in Mexican Americans: The effect of language use and mother’s birthplace. Ethnicity & Disease, 7, 229–240.
Goldman, N. (2001). Social inequalities in health disentangling the underlying mechanisms. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 954, 118–139.CrossRef
Guendelman, S., & English, P. B. (1995). Effect of United States residence on birth outcomes among Mexican immigrants: An exploratory study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 142(Suppl.), S30–S38.CrossRef
Harley, K., & Eskenazi, B. (2006). Time in the United States, social support and health behaviors during pregnancy among women of Mexican descent. Social Science & Medicine, 62, 3048–3061.CrossRef
Hogan, H. (1993). The 1990 post-enumeration survey: Operations and results. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 88, 1047–1060.CrossRef
Hummer, R. A., Powers, D. A., Pullum, S. G., Gossman, G. L., & Frisbie, W. P. (2007). Paradox found (again): Infant mortality among the Mexican-origin population in the United States. Demography, 44, 441–457.CrossRef
Jasso, G., Massey, D. S., Rosenzweig, M. R., & Smith, J. P. (2004). Immigrant health: Selectivity and acculturation. In R. A. Bulatao, B. Cohen, & N. B. Anderson (Eds.), Critical perspectives on racial and ethnic differences in health in late life (pp. 227–266). Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Lara, M., Gamboa, C., Kahramanian, M. I., Morales, L. S., & Bautista, D. E. (2005). Acculturation and Latino health in the United States: A review of the literature and its sociopolitical context. Annual Review of Public Health, 26, 367–397.CrossRef
LeClere, F. B., Jensen, L., & Biddlecom, A. E. (1994). Health care utilization, family context, and adaptation among immigrants to the United States. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 35, 370–384.CrossRef
Marin, G. (1992). Issues in the measurements of acculturation among Hispanics. In K. F. Geisinger (Ed.), Psychological testing of Hispanics (pp. 235–251). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.CrossRef
Marin, G., & Gamba, R. J. (1996). A new measure of acculturation for Hispanics: The Bidimensional Scale for Hispanics (Bas). Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Science, 18, 297–316.CrossRef
Martin, J. A., Hamilton, B. E., Sutton, P. D., Ventura, S. J., Menacker, F., & Kirmeyer, S. (2006). Births: Final data for 2004. National Vital Statistics Reports, 55, 1–101.
Massey, D., Durand, J., & Malone, N. J. (2002). Breakdown: Failure in the post-1986 U.S. immigration system. In Beyond smoke and mirrors: Mexican immigration in an era of economic integration (pp. 105–141). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Massey, D. S., & Singer, A. (1995). New estimates of undocumented Mexican migration and the probability of apprehension. Demography, 32, 203–213.CrossRef
Palloni, A., & Arias, E. (2004). Paradox lost: Explaining the Hispanic adult mortality advantage. Demography, 41, 385–415.CrossRef
Palloni, A., & Ewbank, D. C. (2004). Selection processes in the study of racial and ethnic differentials in adult health and mortality. In R. A. Bulatao, B. Cohen, & N. B. Anderson (Eds.), Critical perspectives on racial and ethnic differences in health in late life (pp. 171–226). Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Palloni, A., & Morenoff, J. D. (2001). Interpreting the paradoxical in the Hispanic paradox: Demographic and epidemiologic approaches. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 954, 140–174.CrossRef
Reyes, B. I. (2001). Immigrant trip duration: The case of immigrants from western Mexico. International Migration Review, 35, 1185–1204.CrossRef
Robinson, J. G., Ahmed, B., Gupta, P. D., & Woodrow, K. A. (1993). Estimation of population coverage in the 1990 United States Census based on demographic analysis. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 88, 1061–1071.CrossRef
Ruiz, R. J., Dolbier, C. L., & Fleschler, R. (2006). The relationships among acculturation, biobehavioral risk, stress, corticotropin-releasing hormone, and poor birth outcomes in Hispanic women. Ethnicity & Disease, 16, 926–932.
Rumbaut, R. G. (1997). Assimilation and its discontents: Between rhetoric and reality. International Migration Review, 31, 923–960.CrossRef
Scribner, R., & Dwyer, J. H. (1989). Acculturation and low birthweight among Latinos in the Hispanic HHANES. American Journal of Public Health, 79, 1263–1267.CrossRef
Van Hook, J., Zhang, W. W., Bean, F. D., & Passel, J. S. (2006). Foreign-born emigration: A new approach and estimates based on matched CPS files. Demography, 43, 361–382.CrossRef
Ventura, S. J., & Taffel, S. M. (1985). Childbearing characteristics of U.S.- and foreign-born Hispanic mothers. Public Health Reports, 100, 647–652.
Warren, R., & Peck, J. M. (1980). Foreign-born emigration from the United States: 1960 to 1970. Demography, 17, 71–84.CrossRef
Williams, R. L., Binkin, N. J., & Clingman, E. J. (1986). Pregnancy outcomes among Spanish-surname women in California. American Journal of Public Health, 76, 387–391.CrossRef
Wolff, C. B., & Portis, M. (1996). Smoking, acculturation, and pregnancy outcome among Mexican Americans. Health Care for Women International, 17, 563–573.
Zambrana, R. E., Scrimshaw, S. C., Collins, N., & Dunkel-Schetter, C. (1997). Prenatal health behaviors and psychosocial risk factors in pregnant women of Mexican origin: The role of acculturation. American Journal of Public Health, 87, 1022–1026.CrossRef
Metadata
Title
Simulating the Effects of Acculturation and Return Migration on the Maternal and Infant Health of Mexican Immigrants in the United States: A Research Note
Author
Miguel Ceballos
Publication date
01-05-2011
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Demography / Issue 2/2011
Print ISSN: 0070-3370
Electronic ISSN: 1533-7790
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-011-0017-4

Other articles of this Issue 2/2011

Demography 2/2011 Go to the issue

OriginalPaper

Estimating the Effect of Smoking on Slowdowns in Mortality Declines in Developed Countries

OriginalPaper

Being Born Under Adverse Economic Conditions Leads to a Higher Cardiovascular Mortality Rate Later in Life: Evidence Based on Individuals Born at Different Stages of the Business Cycle

OriginalPaper

The Protective Effect of Marriage for Survival: A Review and Update

Erratum

Erratum to: Immigration, Crime, and Incarceration in Early Twentieth-Century America

OriginalPaper

Estimating a Dynamic Model of Sex Selection in China

OriginalPaper

Cross-National Sources of Health Inequality: Education and Tobacco Use in the World Health Survey