This article uses a multistate hazard model to test the network hypothesis of social capital theory. The effects of family network ties on individual migration are estimated while controlling for measured and unmeasured conditions that influence migration risks for all family members. Results suggest that social network effects are robust to the introduction of controls for human capital, common household characteristics, and unobserved conditions. Estimates also confirm the ancillary hypothesis, which states that diffuse social capital distributed among community and household members strongly influences the likelihood of out-migration, thus validating social capital theory in general and the network hypothesis in particular. Demonstrating the superiority of one theoretical claim over another is always difficult, and opportunities to conduct critical tests are rare, even in the natural sciences where experimental methods prevail. The network

Objectives-We compared risk for several medical illnesses between immigrant and US-born older Mexican Americans to determine the relationship between functional health and years of US residency among immigrants.Methods-Cross-sectional, multistage probability sample data for 3050 Mexican Americans aged 65 years or older from 5 US southwestern states were analyzed. Self-rated health, medical illnesses, and functional measures were examined in multivariate regression models that included nativity and years of US residency as key predictors.Results-Self-rated health and medical illnesses of immigrant and US-born groups did not differ significantly. Immigrants with longer US residency had significantly higher cognitive functioning scores and fewer problems with functional activities after adjustment for predisposing and medical need factors.Conclusions-Among older Mexican Americans, immigrant health advantages over their USborn counterparts were not apparent. Immigrants had better health functioning with longer US residency that may derive from greater socioeconomic resources. Our findings suggest that the negative acculturation-health relationship found among younger immigrant adults may become a positive relationship in later life.Requests for reprints should be sent to Hector M. González, PhD, Wayne State University, Institute of Gerontology, 234 Knapp Bldg, Detroit, MI, 48202 (hmgonzalez@med.wayne.edu). Contributors H. M. González conceptualized the study and supervised all aspects of its implementation. M. Ceballos also conceptualized the study and contributed to the writing. W. Tarraf and B. T. West conducted all data analyses, interpreted the data, and helped draft the article. M. E. Bowen reviewed the article and assisted in the revisions. W. A. Vega reviewed all drafts of the article and guided its revisions. All authors worked on finalizing the data set, interpreting the data, and developing the narrative into this article. Human Participant ProtectionThis existing data study was exempt from institutional review board evaluation. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptAm J Public Health. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010 October 1. [2][3][4][5] These findings were considered paradoxical, since they ran contrary to the negative socioeconomic health gradient documented in the public health literature. 6,7 The Latino health paradox contends that despite experiencing disproportionate exposure to risk factors for excess morbidity and mortality associated with low socioeconomic position, Latinos, primarily Mexican American immigrants, generally have more favorable health outcomes than Mexican Americans born in the United States, most other minorities, and nonminorities. 8 The longer these healthy immigrants resided in the United States and acculturated, the more likely they were to report deterioration in health status indicators compared with recent immigrants. 9The mental health researchers Rogler et al. referred to "acculturation as an exogenous force shaping the conditions for the rise to psycholo...

Background A significant body of research on minority health shows that while Hispanic immigrants experience unexpectedly favorable outcomes in maternal and infant health, their advantage deteriorates with increased time of residence in the US. This is referred to as the “acculturation paradox.” Objective We assess the “acculturation paradox” hypothesis that attributes this deterioration in birth and child health outcomes to negative effects of acculturation and behavioral adjustments made by immigrants while living in the US, and investigate the potential for the existence of a selective return migration. Design We use a sample of Mexican immigrant women living in two Midwestern communities in the US to analyze the effects of immigrant duration and acculturation on birth outcomes once controlling for social, behavioral, and environmental determinants of health status. These results are verified by conducting a similar analysis with a nationally representative sample of Mexican immigrants. Results We find duration of residence to have a significant and nonlinear relationship with birth outcomes and acculturation to not be statistically significant. The effect of mediators is minimal. Conclusion The analyses of birth outcomes of Mexican immigrant women shows little evidence of an acculturation effect and indirectly suggest the existence of a selective return migration mechanism.