Effects of Family Networks on Mental Health among

Latino Immigrants in the United States

MENTAL HEALTH FAMILY NETWORK

INTRODUCTION

OTHER COVARIATES in MODEL 2— Odds of Major Depressive Symptoms

RESEARCH DESIGN

PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSES PRINCIPAL COMPONENT REGRESSION

* Sun Y. Jeon, MS Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology, Utah State University

Research has shown that foreign-born Latino immigrants have better health outcomes than

U.S. born Latinos, despite lower SES among foreign-born Latinos. This finding holds true for

mental health outcomes.

RELATIONSHIP

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Do foreign-born Latinos have stronger family networks than their U.S.-born counterparts?

Will my study replicate previous findings that foreign-born Latino immigrants have better mental health outcomes than their U.S.-born counterparts?

Do family networks play a significant role in reducing mental illnesses among Latino Americans?

DATA

National Latino Asian American Study 2004 N=2,504. 36% (n=901) U.S.- Born Latino, 64% (n=1,603) Foreign-Born Latino

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Principle Component Regression, SAS 9.4

FAMILY NETWORK VARIABLES FAMILY COHESION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish to thank Drs. Eric N. Reither, Erin T. Hofmann (Utah State University), and Amy K. Bailey (University of Illinois) for their advice on this paper.

SOCIAL NETWORK VARIABLES

10 Social Network Indicators

Principal Component 1: Social Cohesion

(Eigenvalue 1: 2.94, Proportion=0.29)

Principal Component 3: Independence from Social Networks (Eigenvalue 2: 1.94,

proportion=.19)

Explaining Variance: 49.8%

Foreign-born Latinos are more likely to have cohesive networks with friends and relatives.

MODEL 1 MODEL 2

Gender ***

Marital Status **

US Born vs. Foreign Born**

Education

Work Status***

Household Income

Gender ***

Marital Status**

US Born vs. Foreign Born

Education

Work Status ***

Household Income

Family Cohesion***

Independence from Family*

Social Cohesion***

Indep. From Social Networks**

β= -0.30, std err=0.05

β= -0.11, std err=0.05

β= -0.22, std err=0.06

β= 0.16, std err=0.06

MALE

MARRIED

EMPLOYED

56% LESS ***

DIVORCED

UNEMPLOYED

OR=0.44, p<.001

OR=0.62, p=0.029

OR=0.70, p=0.0825

FEMALE

38% LESS **

30% LESS *

CONCLUSION

INDEPENDENCE FROM FAMILY 14 Family Network Indicators

Principal Component 1: Family Cohesion

(Eigenvalue1: 7.35, proportion=.49)

Principal Component 2: Independence from Family (Eigenvalue2: 1.70, proportion=.11)

Explaining Variance: 60.3%

Foreign-born Latinos are more likely to have

cohesive families.

0.14

-0.03

0.06

*** (p<.001)

-0.23

* (p=0.03)

SOCIAL COHESION INDEPENDENCE FROM NETWORKS

0.09

-0.12 -0.15

0.21

*** (p<.001)

*** (p<.001)

OUTCOME VARIABLE- MAJOR DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) IV

Criteria, published by the American Psychiatric Association

U.S.-born Latinos have 21% higher odds of having major de-pressive symptoms than foreign-born Latinos (p <.05).

Family cohesion and social cohesion significantly decrease the odds of

experiencing major depressive symptoms.

After controlling for the network variables in Model 2, significance differ-

ences between U.S. and foreign-born Latinos disappear.

Do Foreign-born Latinos have stronger family networks than their U.S.-born counterparts? Yes. They tend to have more cohesive families. They also tend to have more cohesive social networks with friends and neighbors.

Do foreign-born Latino immigrants actually have better mental health outcomes than their U.S.-born counterparts? Yes. U.S.-born Latinos had 20% higher odds of major depressive symptoms than their foreign-born counterparts.

Do family networks significantly reduce mental illnesses among Latino Americans? Yes. Having a cohesive family significantly decreases the odds of major depressive symptoms. Cohesive social networks with friends and neighbors also significantly decreases the odds of depressive symptoms.

Scores standardized

Foreign-born Latinos have significantly less

household income, educational attainment,

and employment opportunities than their

U.S.-born counterparts (Figure 1). Neverthe-

less, foreign-born Latinos are 19% less likely

than U.S. born Latinos to suffer from depres-

sive disorders.

A central hypothesis emphasizes strong fam-

ily and social networks among foreign-born

Latinos, which relieves stress and leads to

better overall mental health status.

1.00

1.21

* (p=.05)

100%

INCOME EDUCATION EMPLOYMENT STATUS

DEPRESSIVE DISORDER

73% 79%

61%

81%

FIGURE 1. Socio-economic and Mental Health Status among Foreign-born Latinos compared to U.S.-born Lati-nos (National Latino & Asian American Study)

(*p<0.05; **p<0.01; ***p<0.001)

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

***

**

***

**

(*p<0.05; **p<0.01; ***p<0.001)