Family legal status and health: Measurement dilemmas in studies of Mexican-origin children

• Published in: Social science & medicine (1982) Vol. 138; pp. 57 - 67
• Main Authors: Oropesa, R.S., Landale, Nancy S., Hillemeier, Marianne M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.08.2015; Pergamon Press Inc
• Subjects: California; Child; Child Health - ethnology; Child Health - legislation & jurisprudence; Child, Preschool; Children; Childrens health; Female; Health; Health Surveys; Hispanic Americans; Humans; Immigrants; Infant; Interviews as Topic; Legal status; Male; Measurement; Mental health; Mexican Americans - legislation & jurisprudence; Mexican-origin; Parents; Parents & parenting; Socioeconomic Factors; Undocumented; Undocumented Immigrants - legislation & jurisprudence; United States; California; Measurement; United States; Health; Mexican-origin; Children; Immigrants; Undocumented; Legal status
• ISSN: 0277-9536; 1873-5347
• DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.05.038

Family legal status is a potentially important source of variation in the health of Mexican-origin children. However, a comprehensive understanding of its role has been elusive due to data limitations and inconsistent measurement procedures. Using restricted data from the 2011–2012 California Health Interview Survey, we investigate the implications of measurement strategies for estimating the share of children in undocumented families and inferences about how legal status affects children's health. The results show that inferences are sensitive to how this “fundamental cause” is operationalized under various combinatorial approaches used in previous studies. We recommend alternative procedures with greater capacity to reveal how the statuses of both parents affect children's well-being. The results suggest that the legal statuses of both parents matter, but the status of mothers is especially important for assessments of child health. The investigation concludes with a discussion of possible explanations for these findings. •Measurement of family legal status is typically based on information about parents.•Parent-based combinatorial measurement strategies are evaluated.•Inferences about children in “undocumented families” are sensitive to measurement.•Gender-neutral strategies that treat mothers and fathers the same are questionable.