Skip to main content

Latinx Child Health: Challenges and Opportunities to Build a Healthy Future

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
New and Emerging Issues in Latinx Health

Abstract

Latinx children represent the most rapidly growing pediatric population and the nation’s youngest major racial/ethnic group. The health of Latinx children represents a critical indicator of the future health of our nation. However, inequities in access to and quality of care and disparities in health outcomes continue to threaten the health of many Latinx children. In this chapter, we briefly outline what is known about the health of Latinx children in the USA; describe some challenges to their health and well-being , highlighting both critical social determinants of health and community-level protective factors; and propose opportunities at individual, local, and policy levels to promote the health and well-being of Latinx children in the USA.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adair, J. (2015). The impact of discrimination on the early schooling experiences of children from immigrant families. Retrieved from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/FCD-Adair.pdf.

  • Adam, M., McGuire, J., Walsh, M., Basta, J., & LeCroy, C. (2005). Acculturation as a predictor of the onset of sexual intercourse among Hispanic and white teens. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 15(9), 261–265.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alba, R. (1997). Rethinking assimilation theory for a new era of immigration. International Migration Review, 31, 826–874.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Alker, J., & Chester, A. (2016). Children’s health coverage rate now at historic high of 95 percent. Retrieved from Washington, DC: https://ccf.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Kids-ACS-update-11-02-1.odf.

  • Allem, J., Soto, D., Baezconde-Garbanati, L., & Unger, J. (2015). Adverse childhood experiences and substance use among Hispanic emerging adults in Southern California. Addictive Behaviors, 50, 199–204.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Community Pediatrics (Producer). (2015, July 30, 2018). Immigrant child health toolkit. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1y6HR1D.

  • American Psychological Association, P. T. F. o. E. D. (2012). Ethnic and racial disparities in education: Psychology’s contributions to understanding and reducing disparities. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ed/resources/racial-disparities.aspx.

  • Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2005). Border kids count pocket guide: A snapshot of children living on the southwest border.

    Google Scholar 

  • Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2017). Kids Count Data Center. Retrieved from http://datacenter.kidscount.org/.

  • Arcury, T., Weir, M., Summers, P., Chen, H., Bailey, M., Wiggins, M., et al. (2012). Safety, security, hygiene and privacy in migrant farmworker housing. New Solutions: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy, 22(2), 153–173.

    Google Scholar 

  • Artiga, S., Damico, A., & Garfield, R. (2018). Potential effects of public charge changes on health coverage for citizen children. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Issue Brief.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayón, C. (2017). Vivimos en jaula de oro: The impact of state level legislation on immigrant Latino families. Journal of Immigration and Refugee Studies, 16(4), 351–371.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayón, C., & Ghosn, M. (2013). Latino immigrant families’ social support networks: Strengths and limitations during a time of stringent immigration legislation and economic insecurity. Journal of Community Psychology, 41(3), 359–377.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayón, C., Marsiglia, F., & Bermudez-Parsai, M. (2010). Latino family mental health: Exploring the role of discrimination and familismo. Journal of Community Psychology, 38(6), 742–756.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ayón, C., Valencia-Garcia, D., & Kim, S. (2017). Latino immigrant families and restrictive immigration climate: Perceived experiences with discrimination, threat to family, social exclusion, children’s vulnerability, and related factors. Race and Social Problems, 9, 300–312.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker, E., Rendall, M., & Weden, M. (2015). Epidemiological paradox or immigrant vulnerability? Obesity among young children of immigrants. Demography, 52(4), 1295–1320.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (2004). Health promotion by social cognitive means. Health Education & Behavior, 31, 143–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Batalova, J., Fix, M., & Greenberg, M. (2018). Chilling effects: The expected public charge rule and its impact on legal immigrant families’ public benefit use. Washington, DC. Retrieved from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/chilling-effects-expected-public-charge-rule-impact-legal-immigrant-families.

  • Bell, J., & Bautsch, B. (2011). Improving Latino college completion: What state legislators should know. Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/research/education/improving-latino-college-completion-what-state-l.aspx.

  • Berry, J. (1980). Acculturation as varieties of adaptation. In A. Padilla (Ed.), Acculturation: Theory, models, and some new findings (pp. 9–25). Boulder, CO: Westview Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berry, J. (2006). Contexts of acculturation. In D. Sam & J. Berry (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of acculturation psychology (pp. 27–42). New York, NJ: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berry, J., Phinney, J., Sam, D., & Vedder, P. (2006). Immigrant youth: Acculturation, identity, and adaptation. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 55(3), 303–332.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borden, L., Perkins, D., Villarruel, F., & Stone, M. (2005). To participate or not to participate: That is the question. New Directions for Youth Development, 105, 33–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borre, K., Ertle, L., & Graff, M. (2010). Working to eat: Vulnerability, food insecurity, and obesity among migrant and seasonal farmworker families. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 53, 443–462.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Butler-Dawson, J., Galvin, K., Thorne, P., & Rohlman, D. (2016). Organophosphorus pesticide exposure and neurobehavioral performance in Latino children living in an orchard community. Neurotoxicology, 53, 165–172.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Caballero, T., DeCamp, L., Platt, R., Shah, H., Johnson, S., Sibinga, E., et al. (2016). Addressing the mental health needs of Latino children in immigrant families. Clinical Pediatrics, 56(7), 648–658.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Calzada, E., Tamis-LeMonda, C., & Yoshikawa, H. (2013). Familismo in Mexican and Dominican families from low income, urban communities. Journal of Family Issues, 34(12), 1696–1724.

    Google Scholar 

  • Centering Healthcare Institute. (2017). Centering pregnancy. Retrieved from https://www.centeringhealthcare.org/what-we-do/centering-pregnancy.

  • Chen, J., Ng, E., & Wilkins, R. (1996). The health of Canada’s immigrants in 1994–95. Health Reports-Statistics Canada, 7(4), 33–46.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Child Trends. (2015a). High school dropout rates. Retrieved from https://www.childtrends.org/indicators/high-school-dropout-rates.

  • Child Trends. (2015b). Parental education. Retrieved from https://www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/67-Parental_Education.pdf.

  • Child Trends. (2016). Binge drinking. Retrieved from http://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=binge-drinking.

  • Chisti, M., & Hipsman, F. (2016). Increased Central American migration to the United States may provide an enduring phenomenon. http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/increased-central-american-migration-united-states-may-prove-enduring-phenomenon.

  • Coker, T., Elliott, M., Kanouse, D., Grunbaum, J., Schwebel, D., Gilliland, M. … Schuster, M. (2009). Perceived racial/ethnic discrimination among fifth-grade students and its association with mental health. American Journal of Public Health, 99(5), 878–884.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Colby, S., & Ortman, J. (2015). Projections of the size and composition of the US Population: 2014 to 2060, Current Population Reports, P25-1143. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2015/demo/p25-1143.pdf.

  • Crocker, J., & Major, B. (1989). Social stigma and self-esteem: The self-protective properties of stigma. Psychological Review, 96, 608–630.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crosby, D., Medez, J., Guzman, L., & Lopez, M. (2016). Hispanic children’s participation in early care and education: Type of care by household nativity status, race/ethnicity, and child age. National Research Center on Hispanic Children & Families.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daniel-Ulloa, J., Reboussin, B. A., Gilbert, P. A., Mann, L., Alonzo, J., Downs, M., et al. (2014). Predictors of heavy episodic drinking and weekly drunkenness among immigrant Latinos in North Carolina. American Journal of Men’s Health, 22(8), 339–348. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988313519670.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeCamp, L., Kuo, D., Flores, G., O’Connor, K., & Minkovitz, C. (2013). Changes in language services use by US pediatricians. Pediatrics, 132(2), e396–e406.

    Google Scholar 

  • El-Toukhy, S., Sabado, M., & Choi, K. (2016). Trends in susceptibility to smoking by race and ethnicity. Pediatrics, 138(5).

    Google Scholar 

  • Esparza, A., & Donelson, A. (2008). Colonias in Arizona and New Mexico: US–Mexico Border poverty and community development solutions. Tucson: University of Arizona.

    Google Scholar 

  • Estrada, Y., Lee, T., Huang, S., Tapia, M., Velázquez, M., Martinez, M., … Prado, G. (2016). Patient-centered prevention of risky behaviors among Hispanic youths in Florida. American Journal of Public Health, 107, 607–613.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, C., Wallace, S., & Fenton, R. (2000). Discrimination distress during adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29, 679–695.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flores, G., Abreu, M., Olivar, M., & Kastner, B. (1998). Access barriers to health care for Latino children. Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, 152, 1119–1125.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Flores, G., & Brotanek, J. (2005). The healthy immigrant effect: A greater understanding might help us improve the health of all children. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 105, 295–297.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flores, G., Fuentes-Afflick, E., Barbot, O., Carter-Pokras, O., Claudio, L., Lara, M., et al. (2002). The health of Latino children: Urgent priorities, unanswered questions, and a research agenda. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288(1), 82–90.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Franzini, L., Ribble, J., & Keddie, A. (2001). Understanding the Hispanic paradox. Ethnicity and Disease, 11, 496–518.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fredricks, J., & Simpkins, S. (2012). Promoting positive youth development through organized after-school activities: Taking a closer look at participation of ethnic minority youth. Child Development Perspectives, 6, 280–287.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fry, R. (2014). US high school dropout rate reaches record low, driven by improvements among Hispanics, blacks. Retrieved from Washington, D.C.: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/10/02/u-s-high-school-dropout-rate-reaches-record-low-driven-by-improvements-among-hispanics-blacks/.

  • Garcia Coll, C., & Marks, A. E. (2012). The immigrant paradox in children and adolescents: Is becoming American a developmental risk?. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garner, A. S., Shonkoff, J. P., & Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health, Committee on Early Childhood, Adoption, and Dependent Care, and Section on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. (2012). Early childhood adversity, toxic stress, and the role of the pediatrician: Translating developmental science into lifelong health. Pediatrics, 129(1), e224–e231.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, M. (2001). Immigrant adaptation and patterns of acculturation. Human Development, 44, 19–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, P. A., Barrington, C., Rhodes, S. D., & Eng, E. (2016). Saliendo Adelante: Stressors and coping strategies among immigrant Latino men who have sex with men in a nontraditional settlement state. American Journal of Mens Health, 10(6), 515–525.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gonzales, N., Knight, G., Morgan-Lopez, A., Saenz, D., & Sirolli, A. (2002). Acculturation and the mental health of Latino youths: An integration and critique of the literature. In J. Contreras, K. Kerns, & A. Neal-Barnett (Eds.), Latino children and families in the United States (pp. 45–74). Westport, CT: Praeger Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gorski, P., Kuo, A., & American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Community Pediatrics. (2013). Community pediatrics: Navigating the intersection of medicine, public health, and social determinants of children’s health. Pediatrics, 131, 623–628.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grzywacz, J., Arcury, T., Trejo, G., & Quandt, S. (2016). Latino mothers in farmworker families’ beliefs about preschool children’s physical activity and play. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health/Center for Minority Public Health, 18(1), 234–242.

    PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hainmueller, J., Lawrence, D., Martén, L., Black, B., Figueroa, L., Hotard, M., …, Laitin, D. (2017). Protecting unauthorized immigrant mothers improves their children’s mental health. Science, 357(6355), 1041–1044.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, K. (1999). The health status and risk behaviors of adolescents in immigrant families. In D. Hernandez (Ed.), Children of immigrants: Health, adjustment, and public assistance (pp. 286–347). Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Health Equity Institute. (2017). Retrieved from https://healthequity.sfsu.edu/content/infographic.

  • Hernandez, D., & Napierala, J. (2013). Diverse children: Race, ethnicity, and immigration in America’s new non-majority generation. Retrieved from New York, NY: https://www.fcd-us.org/assets/2016/04/DiverseChildren-Full-Report.pdf.

  • Hess, B. (2007). Children in the fields: An American problem. Washington, DC: Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofferth. (1999). Receipt of public assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American children in native and immigrant families. In D. Hernandez (Ed.), Children of immigrants: Health, adjustment, and public assistance. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Institute of Medicine. (2011). Hunger and obesity: Understanding a food insecurity paradigm: Workshop summary. Washington, DC. National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ip, E., Saldana, S., Arcury, T., Grzywacz, J., Trejo, G., & Quandt, S. (2015). Profiles of food security for US farmworker households and factors related to dynamic of change. American Journal of Public Health, 105(10), e42–e47.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Isasi, C., Rastogi, D., & Molina, K. (2016). Health issues in Hispanic/Latino youth. Journal of Latina/o Psychology, 4(2), 67–82.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Izzo, C., Weiss, L., Shanahan, T., & Rodriguez-Brown, F. (2000). Parental self-efficacy and social support as predictors of parenting practices and children’s socioemotional adjustment in Mexican immigrant families. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community, 20(1–2), 197–213.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jepson, W. (2014). Measuring ‘no-win’ waterscapes: Experience-based scales and classification approaches to assess household water security in colonias on the US–Mexico border. Geoforum, 51, 107–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnston, L., O’Malley, P., Miech, R., Bachman, J., & Schulenberg, J. (2016). Monitoring the future national survey results on drug use, 1975–2015: Overview, key findings on adolescent drug use. Ann Arbor, Michigan: National Academies Press. Retrieved from: http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/monographs/mtf-overview2015.pdf.

  • Kam, J., & Lazarevic, V. (2014). The stressful (and not so stressful) nature of language brokering: Identifying when brokering functions as a cultural stressor for Latino immigrant children in early adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43(12), 1994–2011.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kane, R., Nicoll, A., Kahn, E., & Groves, S. (2012). Supporting and caring for our Latino youth. Retrieved from https://www.aamc.org/initiatives/diversity/449830/hrc5.html.

  • Kastanis, A., & Gates, G. J. (2013). LGBT Latino/a individuals and Latino/a same-sex couples. Retrieved from https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/research/census-lgbt-demographics-studies/lgbt-latino-oct-2013/.

  • Kaste, L., Drury, T., Horowitz, A., & Beltran, E. (1999). An evaluation of NHANES III estimates of early childhood caries. Journal of Public Health Dentistry, 59(3), 198–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kearney, G., Chatterjee, A., Talton, J., Chen, H., Quandt, S., Summers, P., et al. (2014). The association of respiratory symptoms and indoor housing conditions among migrant farmworkers in eastern North Carolina. Journal of Agromedicine, 19(4), 395–405.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Korc, M., & Ford, P. (2013). Application of the water poverty index in border colonias of west Texas. Water Policy, 15(1), 79–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krogstad, J., Stepler, R., & Lopez, M. (2015). English proficiency on the rise among Latinos; US born driving language changes. Retrieved from http://www.pewhispanic.org/2015/05/12/english-proficiency-on-the-rise-among-latinos/.

  • Kuperminc, G., Wilkins, N., Roche, C., & Alvarez-Jimenez, A. (2009). Risk, resilience, and positive development among Latino youth. In F. Villarruel, G. Carlo, J. Grau, M. Azmitia, N. Cabrera, & T. Chahin (Eds.), Handbook of US Latino psychology. SAGE: Los Angelos, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lara, M., Gamboa, C., Kahramanian, M., Morales, L., & Bautista, D. (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.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lara, M., Morgenstern, H., Duan, N., & Brook, R. (1999). Elevated asthma morbidity in Puerto Rican children. Western Journal of Medicine, 170(2), 75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin, A., Simpkins, S., Gaskin, E., & Menjívar, C. (2016). Cultural values and other perceived benefits of organized activities: A qualitative analysis of Mexican-origin parents’ perspectives in Arizona. Applied Developmental Science, 22(2), 89–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linton, J., Griffin, M., & Shapiro, A. (2017). Detention of immigrant children. Pediatrics, 139(5).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lopez, M. G. (2009). Latinos and education: Explaining the attainment gap. Retrieved from https://www.pewhispanic.org/2009/10/07/latinos-and-education-explaining-the-attainment-gap/. Accessed June 21, 2009.

  • Luthra, R., & Soehl, T. (2015). From parent to child? Transmission of educational attainment within immigrant families: Methological considerations. Demography, 52, 543–567.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Markides, K., & Coreil, J. (1986). The health of Hispanics in the southwestern United States: An epidemiologic paradox. Public Health Reports, 101, 253–265.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Marks, A., Ejesi, K., & García Coll, C. (2014). Understanding the US immigrant paradox in childhood and adolescence. Child Development Perspectives, 8(2), 59–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, Y., & Grineski, S. (2012). Disparities in access to residential plumbing: A binational comparison of environmental injustice in El Paso and Ciudad Juárez. Population and Environment, 34(2), 194–216.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mendoza, F., & Dixon, L. (1999). The health and nutritional status of immigrant Hispanic children. In D. Hernandez (Ed.), Children of immigrants: Health adjustment and public assistance (pp. 187–224). Washingotn, D.C.: National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mendoza, G., & Shaikh, N. (2015). Tuition benefits for immigrants. Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/research/immigration/tuition-benefits-for-immigrants.aspx.

  • Mersky, J., Topitzes, J., & Reynolds, A. (2013). Impacts of adverse childhood experiences on health, mental health, and substance use in early adulthood: A cohort study of an urban, minority sample in the US. Child Abuse and Neglect, 37(11), 917–925.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murphey, D., Guzman, L., & Torres, A. (2014). America’s Hispanic children: Gaining ground, looking forward. Retrieved from https://www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2014-38AmericaHispanicChildren.pdf.

  • Nachazel, T. (2016). The condition of education 2016. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2016/2016144.pdf.

  • National Immigration Law Center (NILC). (2014). Basic facts about in-state tuition for undocumented immigrant students. Retrieved from https://www.nilc.org/issues/education/basic-facts-instate/.

  • National Immigration Law Center (NILC). (2017a). Laws & policies improving access to higher education for immigrants. Retrieved from https://www.nilc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/table-access-to-ed-toolkit.pdf.

  • National Immigration Law Center (NILC). (2017b). Trump’s executive orders and immigrants’ access to health, food, and other public programs: Things to keep in mind when talking with immigrants. Retrieved from https://www.nilc.org/issues/health-care/exec-orders-and-access-to-public-programs/.

  • National Immigration Law Center (NILC). (2018). Health coverage maps. Retrieved from https://www.nilc.org/issues/health-care/healthcoveragemaps/.

  • Nelson, L., Schneider, E., Wells, C., & Moore, M. (2004). Epidemiology of tuberculosis in the United State, 1993–2001: The need for continued vigilance. Pediatrics, 114(2), 333–341.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2017). Healthy people 2020: Disparities. Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/about/foundation-health-measures/Disparities.

  • Ogden, C., Carroll, M., Fryar, C., & Flegal, K. (2015). Prevalence of obesity among adults and youth: United States, 2011–2014. NCHS Data Brief, 219.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olds, D. (2006). The nurse-family partnership: An evidence-based preventive intervention. Infant Mental Health Journal, 27(1), 5–25.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Painter, T. M. (2008). Connecting the dots: When the risks of HIV/STD infection appear high but the burden of infection is not known—The case of male Latino migrants in the Southern United States. AIDS and Behavior, 12(2), 213–226.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paradies, Y., Ben, J., Denson, N., Elias, A., Priest, N., Pieterse, A. … Gee, G. (2015). Racism as a determinant of health: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One, 10(9).

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Parents as Teachers. (2017). Home page. Retrieved from http://www.parentsasteachers.org.

  • Patten, E. (2016). The nation’s Latino population is defined by its youth. Retrieved from http://www.pewhispanic.org/files/2016/04/PH_2016-04-20_LatinoYouth-Final.pdf.

  • The Personal responsibility and work opportunity reconciliation act (PRWORA). (1996). Retrieved from https://aspe.hhs.gov/report/personal-responsibility-and-work-opportunity-reconciliation-act-1996. Accessed June 21, 2019.

  • Perreira, K., & Ornelas, I. (2011). The physical and psychological well-being of immigrant children. Future of Children, 21, 195–218.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Phinney, J. (2003). Ethnic identity and acculturation. In K. Chun, P. Organista, & G. Marin (Eds.), Acculturation: Advances in theory, measurement and applied research (pp. 63–82). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Popkin, B., & Udry, J. (1998). Adolescent obesity increases significantly in second and third generation US Immigrants: The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Journal of Nutrition, 128, 701–706.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. (2000). Creating the will: Hispanics achieving educational excellence. Retrieved from Washington, DC: http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED446195&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED446195.

  • Quandt, S., Arcury, T., Early, J., Tapia, J., & Davis, J. (2004). Household food security among Latino farmworkers in North Carolina. Public Health Reports, 119, 568–576.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Quandt, S., Grzywacz, J., Trejo, G., & Arcury, T. (2014). Nutritional strategies of Latino farmworker families with preschool children: Identifying leverage points for obesity prevention. Social Science and Medicine, 123, 72–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.10.029.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reigelhaupt, F., Carrasco, R., & Brandt, E. (2003). Spanish: A language of indigenous peoples of the Americas. Nurturing Native Languages. Flagstaff, AZ: Northern Arizona University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rhodes, S. D., Mann, L., Simán, F. M., Song, E., Alonzo, J., Downs, M. … Hall, M. A. (2015). The impact of local immigration enforcement policies on the health of immigrant Hispanics/Latinos in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 105(2), 329–337. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2014.302218.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Retrieved from http://stateofobesity.org/disparities/latinos/.

  • Romero, L., Pazol, K., Warner, L., Cox, S., Kroelinger, C., Besera, G., et al. (2016). Reduced disparities in birth rates among teens aged 15–19 Years—United States, 2006–2007 and 2013–2014. Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Reports, 65(16), 409–414.

    Google Scholar 

  • Romero, A., & Roberts, R. (2003). Stress within a bicultural context for adolescents of Mexican descent. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 9, 171–184.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, L., Earnshaw, V., Carroll-Scott, A., Henderson, K., Peters, S., McCaslin, C., et al. (2015). Weight- and race-based bullying: Health associations among urban adolescents. Journal of Health Psychology, 20(4), 401–412.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rumbaut, R. (1997). Assimilation and its discontents: Between rhetoric and reality. International Migration Review, 31, 923–960.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Russell, S., & Fish, J. (2016). Mental health in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 12, 465–487.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Russell, S., Sinclair, K., Poteat, V., & Koenig, B. (2012). Adolescent health and harassment based on discriminatory bias. American Journal of Public Health, 102(3), 493–495.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, C., Huebner, D., Diaz, R., & Sanchez, J. (2009). Family rejection as a predictor of negative health outcomes in white and Latino lesbian, gay, and bisexual young adults. Pediatrics, 123(1), 346–352.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, C., Russell, S., Huebner, D., Diaz, R., & Sanchez, J. (2010). Family acceptance in adolescence and the health of LGBT young adults. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 23(4), 205–213.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders-Phillips, K., Settles-Reaves, B., Walker, D., & Brownlow, J. (2009). Social inequality and racial discrimination: Risk factors for health disparities in children of color. Pediatrics, 124(Suppl 3), S176–S186.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sangrigoli, S., & De Schonen, S. (2004). Recognition of own-race and other-race faces by three-month-old infants. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 1219–1227.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, B., Martinez, S., & Ownes, A. (2006). Barriers to educational opportunities for Hispanics in the United States. In M. Tienda, F. Mitchell, & National Research Council (US) Panel on Hispanics in the United States (Eds.), Hispanics and the future of America; editors. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumacher, L., Pawson, I., & Kretchmer, N. (1987). Growth of immigrant children in the newcomer schools of San Francisco. Pediatrics, 80(6), 861–868.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, S., Chester, A., Lopez, S., & Vargas Poppe, S. (2016). Latino children’s coverage reaches historic high, but too many remain uninsured. Retrieved from Washington, DC: ccf.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/LatinoChildren12_15.pdf.

  • Schwartz, S., Unger, J., Zamboanga, B., & Szapocznik, J. (2010). Rethinking the concept of acculturation: Implications for theory and research. The American Psychologist, 65(4), 237–251.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartzenberg, S., Kuo, A., Linton, J., Flanagan, P., Council on Community Pediatrics, & Committee on Nutrition. (2015). Promoting food security for all children: American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement. Pediatrics, 136(5), e1431–e1438.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stein, G., Gonzalez, L., Cupito, A., Kiang, L., & Supple, A. (2015). The protective role of familism in the lives of Latino adolescents. Journal of Family Issues, 36(10), 1255–1273.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stepler, R., & Lopez, M. (2016). US Latino population growth and dispersion has slowed since onset of the great recession. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. (September).

    Google Scholar 

  • Suro, R., Suárez-Orozco, M., & Canizales, S. (2016). Removing insecurity: How American children will benefit from President Obama’s executive action on immigration. UCLA Tomás Rivera Policy Institute. Los Angeles, California. Retrieved from: http://trpi.org/pdfs/research_report.pdf.

  • Szalacha, L., Erkut, S., Garcı´a Coll, C., Alarcón, O., Fields, J., & Ceder, I. (2003). Discrimination and Puerto Rican children’s and adolescents’ mental health. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 9(2), 141–155.

    Google Scholar 

  • Texas Secretary of State Office. Colonias Program. Retrieved from http://www.sos.state.tx.us/border/colonias/index.shtml.

  • The State of Obesity. (2014). Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Obesity: Trust for America’s Health.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toomey, R., Umaña-Taylor, A., Williams, D., Harvey-Mendoza, E., Jahromi, L., & Updegraff, K. (2014). Impact of Arizona’s SB 1070 immigration law on utilization of health care and public assistance among Mexican-origin adolescent mothers and their mother figures. American Journal of Public Health, 104(Suppl 1), S28–S34.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Umana-Taylor, A. (2004). Ethnic identity and self-esteem: examining the role of social context. Journal of Adolescence, 27(2), 139–146.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Umaña-Taylor, A., & Updegraff, K. (2007). Latino adolescents’ mental health: Exploring the interrelations among discrimination, ethnic identity, cultural orientation, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms. Journal of Adolescence, 30(4), 549–567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2006.08.002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2014). Children’s environmental health disparities: Hispanic and Latino American children and asthma. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-05/documents/hd_hispanic_asthma.pdf.

  • United States-Mexico Border Health Commission. (2010). Health disparities and the US-Mexico border: Challenges and opportunities: a white paper. El Paso: United States-Mexico Border Health Commission.

    Google Scholar 

  • United States-México Border Health Commission. (2014a). Access to health care in the US-México border region: Challenges and opportunities: A white paper. El Paso: United States-Mexico Border Health Commission.

    Google Scholar 

  • United States-México Border Health Commission. (2014b). Report: Health status in the U.S.-Mexico border region. El Paso: United States-Mexico Border Health Commission.

    Google Scholar 

  • United States-México Border Health Commission (Ed.) (2015). Healthy border 2020: A prevention & health promotion initiative: A white paper.

    Google Scholar 

  • US Customs and Border Protection. (2016). United States border patrol southwest family unit subject and unaccompanied Alien children apprehensions fiscal year 2016. Retrieved from https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-border-unaccompanied-children/fy-2016.

  • US Department of Health and Human Services. (2000). Healthy people 2010: Understanding and improving health (2nd ed.). Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • US Department of Labor. (2016). Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) 2013–2014. Retrieved from https://www.doleta.gov/naws/pages/research/research-reports.cfm.

  • Valdez, C., Padilla, B., & Valentine, J. (2013). Consequences of Arizona’s immigration policy on social capital among Mexican mothers with unauthorized immigration status. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 35(3), 303–322.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valencia-Garcia, D., Simoni, J., Alegrıa, M., & Takeuchi, D. (2012). Social capital, acculturation, mental health, and perceived access to services among Mexican American women. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 80(2), 77–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vallejos, Q., Quandt, S., & Arcury, T. (2009). The condition of farmworker housing in the Eastern United States. In S. Quandt & T. Arcury (Eds.), Latino Farmworkers in the Eastern United States: Health, safety, and justice (pp. 37–69). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vargas, E., & Ybarra, V. (2017). US citizen children of undocumented parents: The link between state immigration policy and the health of Latino children. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 19(4), 913–920.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Victory, K., Cabrera, N., Larson, D., Reynolds, K., Latura, J., Thomson, C., et al. (2017). Comparison of fluoride levels in tap and bottled water and reported use of fluoride supplementation in a United States-Mexico Border Community. Frontiers in Public Health, 5, 87.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Villarruel, A. M., Jemmott, J. B., 3rd, & Jemmott, L. S. (2006). A randomized controlled trial testing an HIV prevention intervention for Latino youth. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 160(8), 772–777.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Viruell-Fuentes, E., Miranda, P., & Abdulrahim, S. (2012). More than culture: Structural racism, intersectionality theory, and immigrant health. Social Science and Medicine, 75(12), 2099–2106.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vogel, M., Monesson, A., & Scott, L. (2012). Building biases in infancy: The influence of race on face and voice emotion matching. Developmental Science, 15(3), 359–372.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weathers, A., Minkovitz, C., O’Campo, P., & Diener-West, M. (2003). Health services use by children of migratory agricultural workers: exploring the role of need for care. Pediatrics, 111(5), 956–963.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, K. (1978). The developmental psychology of the black child. New York: Africana Research Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xiao, N., Quinn, P., Liu, S., Ge, L., Pascalis, O., & Lee, K. (2017). Older but not younger infants associate own-race faces with happy music and other-race faces with sad music. Developmental Science, 21(2), e12537.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoshikawa, H., & Kholoptseva, J. (2013). Unauthorized immigrant parents and their children’s development: A summary of the evidence. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, A., Musu-Gillette, L., & Oudekerk, B. (2016). Indicators of school crime and safety: 2015 (NCES 2016-079/NCJ 249758). Jessup, MD: National Center for Education Statistics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman, E. B., Woolf, S. H., & Haley, A. (2015). Understanding the relationship between education and health: A review of the evidence and an examination of community perspectives. In Population health: behavioral and social science insights (pp. 347–384). AHRQ Publication (15-0002).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to recognize Daniel P. Krowchuk, MD, FAAP for his critical review of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julie M. Linton .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Linton, J.M., Gutierrez, J.R. (2020). Latinx Child Health: Challenges and Opportunities to Build a Healthy Future. In: Martínez, A., Rhodes, S. (eds) New and Emerging Issues in Latinx Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24043-1_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24043-1_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-24042-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-24043-1

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics