The Meaning of Self-Rated Health among Mexican Adults

• In Event: 239 - Regular Session. Immigrants, Institutions, and Incorporation

Abstract

Despite its established association across health outcomes, the Hispanic health paradox is less consistent for self-rated health (SRH)—a widely-used, predictive, single-item measure of general health—as Mexican immigrants often report poorer SRH compared to U.S.-born Hispanics and whites. These poorer health ratings are attributed to multiple factors (e.g., bias related to interview language, variations by acculturation status, and somatization) highlighting the multidimensionality of SRH and the need to broadly assess which factors Mexican immigrants consider when assessing their overall health status. In this study, we draw on mixed-methods data from the 2014 Study of Health and Migration in Mexico (SHMM). We began by utilizing survey and physical exam data to evaluate how adults in Mexico self-assess their health and find overwhelmingly negative SRH and no differences by migration experience. Following, we tested the degree of congruence between SRH and objective measures of health status, also stratified by migration experience and show that this sample of Mexican adults’ SRH are not overly negative. Following, we ran multivariate regression models predicting SRH and find that English language ability, somatization-related factors, as well as health behaviors are significant. Finally, we drew on in-depth to confirm the survey findings and verify that the results are not dependent the assessment of SRH in the survey. Overall, the results have important implications for U.S.-based health disparities research and indicate a need to control for somatization and acculturation-related factors.

Authors

• Claire E. Altman, Rice University

• Bridget K. Gorman, Rice University

• Sergio Chavez, Rice University