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Spatial Disparities: The Role of Nativity in Neighborhood Exposure to Alcohol and Tobacco Retailers

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health volume 24, pages 945–955 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

Studies of retail environment, one of the social determinants of health, document racial/ethnic disparities in exposure to alcohol and tobacco (A and T) retailers, but have largely overlooked nativity. We examined associations between A and T retailer density and rates of foreign-born Latinx and foreign-born Asian residents in California census tracts (N = 7888), using spatial regressions and controlling for population and ecological confounders (e.g., population density, zoning, residential instability, urbanicity). Socio-demographic data came from the American Community Survey (2012–2016); census tract density of A and T retailers came from geocoded addresses from state license data for off-sale alcohol distributors and purchased data on tobacco retailers from a commercial provider. Models predicting A and T tract retailer density showed that the rate of foreign-born Latinx residents was associated with higher tobacco retailer density but lower alcohol retailer density, and demonstrate no significant associations between rate of foreign-born Asian residents tobacco and alcohol retail density. Retail environment could contribute to observed declines in immigrant health over time in the US and across generations.

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Acknowledgements

GB thanks Alex Thomas for assistance with previous versions of the Supplemental Figure, and Wei Kang for statistical consulting.

Funding

This study was funded by the Chapman University Office of Research (GB) and the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (JD; T29IR0677).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Environmental Science and Policy Program, Chapman University, One University Drive, Orange, CA, 92866, USA

    Georgiana Bostean

  2. Department of Sociology, California State University, Channel Islands, One University Drive, Camarillo, CA, 93012, USA

    Luis A. Sánchez

  3. Department of Health Sciences, Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, Chapman University, One University Drive, Orange, CA, 92866, USA

    Jason A. Douglas

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  1. Georgiana Bostean
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Bostean, G., Sánchez, L.A. & Douglas, J.A. Spatial Disparities: The Role of Nativity in Neighborhood Exposure to Alcohol and Tobacco Retailers. J Immigrant Minority Health 24, 945–955 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-021-01277-6

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Keywords

  • Immigrant health
  • Contextual risk factors
  • Retail environment
  • Social determinants of health
  • Neighborhoods