TY  - CHAP
AB  - Abstract Research on behavioral functioning among Mexican-origin children primarily uses an individual-centered approach that ignores the residential context. In addition, most studies have been unable to consider an important measure of inequality for this population, legal status; and mental health of children with undocumented parents is underexplored. We address these gaps by investigating the influence of parental legal status and neighborhood characteristics on Mexican-origin children’s behavioral functioning using a multilevel approach.We use data from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Study and 2000 decennial census. Our primary focus is variation in internalizing and externalizing behavior problems among Mexican-origin youth (N = 2,535) with mothers who are undocumented, documented or naturalized citizens, or US-born using multilevel models.The multilevel results show the importance of considering parental legal status. Mexican children of unauthorized mothers are more likely to exhibit internalizing and externalizing problems than all other groups of Mexican children. Furthermore, neighborhood-concentrated disadvantage is significantly associated with internalizing behavior problems, and neighborhood-concentrated affluence is significantly associated with externalizing behavior problems. In short, the results demonstrate the importance of considering both parental legal status and neighborhood contexts for understanding behavior problems of Mexican-origin children.Our findings suggest that Mexican children’s mental health outcomes – measured by internalizing and externalizing behavior problems – vary significantly by parental legal status and neighborhood contexts. This study provides important nuances for public policy for health care prevention and interventions.
VL  - 35
SN  - 978-1-78743-150-8, 978-1-78743-149-2/0275-4959
DO  - 10.1108/S0275-495920170000035012
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/S0275-495920170000035012
AU  - Noah Aggie J.
AU  - Landale Nancy S.
PY  - 2017
Y1  - 2017/01/01
TI  - Behavioral Functioning Among Mexican-Origin Children: The Roles of Parental Legal Status and the Neighborhood Context
T2  - Health and Health Care Concerns Among Women and Racial and Ethnic Minorities
T3  - Research in the Sociology of Health Care
PB  - Emerald Publishing Limited
SP  - 231
EP  - 248
Y2  - 2024/05/12
ER  -