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Duration of United States Residence and Self-Reported Health Among African-Born Immigrant Adults

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Abstract

Although researchers have found an inverse relationship between length of U.S. residence and health, research on this issue among African-born immigrants is limited. Data from the 2011–2015 National Health Interview Surveys were pooled for African-born immigrants (N = 1137) and used to estimate weighted ordinary least squares regression models on self-reported health, adjusting for common immigrant health predictors. Length of U.S. residence was associated with significant health status declines only among those that had lived in the U.S. for 10 to less than 15 years (b = − 0.235, p < 0.05), net of covariates. African-born immigrants may have both different selection processes than other immigrants and not follow common integration patterns. These findings suggest that existing immigrant health frameworks may need modification to fully apply to this growing U.S. immigrant population.

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Acknowledgements

Ezinne M. Nwankwo was supported by the UCLA Graduate Summer Research Mentorship program, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Health Policy Research Scholars program. Steven P. Wallace received support from NIMHD R01 MD012292 and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences through UCLA CTSI Grant UL1TR001881. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the official views of the NIH or any of the funders.

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  1. Department of Community Health Sciences, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, 650 Charles E Young Dr. S., Box 951772, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Ezinne M. Nwankwo & Steven P. Wallace

  2. Center for Health Policy Research, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Steven P. Wallace

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Nwankwo, E.M., Wallace, S.P. Duration of United States Residence and Self-Reported Health Among African-Born Immigrant Adults. J Immigrant Minority Health 23, 773–783 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-020-01073-8

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