Work

Variations in Health and Health Behaviors by Nativity Among Pregnant Black Women in Philadelphia

Year: 2010

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVES: We compared health behaviors and health outcomes among US-born, African-born, and Caribbean-born pregnant Black women and examined whether sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics explained differences among these population subgroups. METHODS: We analyzed data from a prospective cohort study conducted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with a series of nested logistic regression models predicting tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use and measures of physical and mental health. RESULTS: Foreign-born Black women were significantly less likely to engage in substance use and had better self-rated physical and mental health than did native-born Black women. These findings were largely unchanged by adjustment for sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics. The foreign-born advantage varied by place of birth: it was somewhat stronger for African-born women than for Caribbean-born women. CONCLUSIONS: Further studies are needed to gain a better understanding of the role of immigrant selectivity and other characteristics that contribute to more favorable health behaviors and health outcomes among foreign-born Blacks than among native-born Blacks in the United States.

Source: American Journal of Public Health

DOI: 10.2105/ajph.2009.174755

Authors: Irma T. Elo, Jennifer F. Culhane

Institutions: University of Pennsylvania, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Drexel University

Language: English

Topic: Migration, Health and Trauma

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

Funders: Drexel University, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development