In spite of the relatively favorable birth outcomes among Mexican Americans in comparison to other US racial and ethnic groups, a growing body of evidence indicates that Mexican American children experience disproportionately higher rates of health problems and developmental deficiencies during their early years of life. Known as the epidemiologic paradox, the phenomenon of relatively healthy birth outcomes among Mexican Americans, in spite of high poverty rates and low levels of prenatal care utilization, has been extensively studied, but very little research on this population has been extended to early childhood health and development outcomes. Few researchers have looked beyond birth outcomes to the effects of current social risk factors that include social environment and access to adequate health care, on early childhood health and development among Mexican Americans. One important reason for this gap in knowledge has been the lack of detailed data to simultaneously consider the wide range of potential explanatory variables across time. Therefore, the overall goal of this project is to identify the factors that influence the health and development of Mexican American children from birth through age 5 and to do so in a comparative context with the non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black populations. A particular goal of this study is to investigate how hypothesized protective factors present during pregnancy may or may not continue to sustain the health and development of Mexican American children beyond birth. We will examine three sets of outcomes: (a) birth outcomes, (b) child health and well-child health care, and (c) child development. Although we expect that the determinants of each of the outcomes be related, the analyses will be based on relevant conceptual models applicable to each specific outcome. Our statistical analyses will also allow us to consider the interconnections between birth outcomes, health and health care, and development in the course of early childhood. We will use national-level data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to conduct these analyses. The Fragile Families Study is a large, nationally representative longitudinal survey of a birth cohort of approximately 4800 children, including approximately 750 Mexican Americans, with births to unmarried parents substantially over-sampled. The data are exceptionally rich in comparison to others, which have been used to study Mexican American child health and development, allowing us a unique opportunity to more fully understand the range of factors that influence child well being within this rapidly growing population.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01HD043371-01A2
Application #
6826565
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-HOP-E (04))
Program Officer
Evans, V Jeffrey
Project Start
2004-07-01
Project End
2007-04-30
Budget Start
2004-07-01
Budget End
2005-04-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2004
Total Cost
$232,250
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Texas Austin
Department
Miscellaneous
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
170230239
City
Austin
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
78712
Page, Robin L; Padilla, Yolanda C; Hamilton, Erin R (2012) Psychosocial factors associated with patterns of smoking surrounding pregnancy in fragile families. Matern Child Health J 16:249-57
Cardoso, Jodi Berger; Padilla, Yolanda C; Sampson, McClain (2010) Racial and ethnic variation in the predictors of maternal parenting stress. J Soc Serv Res 36:429-444
Reichman, Nancy E; Teitler, Julien O; Hamilton, Erin R (2009) Effects of neighborhood racial composition on birthweight. Health Place 15:784-91
Cardoso, Jodi Berger; Gomez, Rebecca J; Padilla, Yolanda C (2009) What happens when family resources are across international boundaries? An exploratory study on kinship placement in Mexican immigrant families. Child Welfare 88:65-80
Hamilton, Erin R; Villarreal, Andrés; Hummer, Robert A (2009) Individual, Household, and Community U.S. Migration Experience and Infant Mortality in Rural and Urban Mexico. Popul Res Policy Rev 28:123-142
Padilla, Yolanda C; Hamilton, Erin R; Hummer, Robert A (2009) Beyond the Epidemiological Paradox: The Health of Mexican American Children at Age 5. Soc Sci Q 90:1072-1088
Reichman, Nancy E; Hamilton, Erin R; Hummer, Robert A et al. (2008) Racial and ethnic disparities in low birthweight among urban unmarried mothers. Matern Child Health J 12:204-15
Padilla, Yolanda C; Villalobos, Griselda (2007) Cultural responses to health among Mexican American women and their families. Fam Community Health 30:S24-33