Immigrant children and youth are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, and so their prospects bear heavily on the well-being of the country. Children of Immigrants represents some of the very best and most extensive research efforts to date on the circumstances, health, and development of children in immigrant families and the delivery of health and social services to these children and their families.

This book presents new, detailed analyses of more than a dozen existing datasets that constitute a large share of the national system for monitoring the health and well-being of the U.S. population. Prior to these new analyses, few of these datasets had been used to assess the circumstances of children in immigrant families. The analyses enormously expand the available knowledge about the physical and mental health status and risk behaviors, educational experiences and outcomes, and socioeconomic and demographic circumstances of first- and second-generation immigrant children, compared with children with U.S.-born parents.

Contents

• Committee On The Health And Adjustment Of Immigrant Children And Families
• Board On Children, Youth, And Families
• Acknowledgments
• [The National Academies]
• Chapter 1. Children Of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, And Public Assistance
• Chapter 2. Socioeconomic And Demographic Risk Factors And Resources Among Children In Immigrant And Native-Born Families: 1910, 1960, And 1990
  • Number And Countries Of Origin Of Children In Immigrant Families
  • Risk Factors Among Children Generally
  • Potential Risk Factors Specific To Children In Immigrant Families
  • Summary
  • Acknowledgments
  • References
  • Appendix 2A
• Chapter 3. Access To Health Insurance And Health Care For Children In Immigrant Families
  • Focus And Importance Of This Study
  • Methods
  • Uninsurance, Immigration, And Citizenship
  • Effects Of Immigration Status On Access To Care
  • Discussion And Policy Implications
  • References
  • Appendix 3A: Variables Used In Analysis Of Health Insurance Coverage
• Chapter 4. The Health And Nutritional Status Of Immigrant Hispanic Children: Analyses Of The Hispanic Health And Nutrition Examination Survey
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • References
  • Appendix 4A
• Chapter 5. Immigration and Infant Health: Birth Outcomes of Immigrant and Native-Born Women
  • Background
  • Findings
  • Implications For Future Research
  • Conclusions
  • References
  • Appendix 5A: Description Of Sample And Data
• Chapter 6. The Health Status And Risk Behaviors Of Adolescents In Immigrant Families
  • Background
  • Analysis Strategy
  • Results
  • Conclusion
  • References
  • Appendix 6A: Description Of Data And Sample
• Chapter 7. Educational Profile Of 3- to 8-Year-Old Children Of Immigrants
  • The National Household Education Survey
  • Limitations Of The Data
  • Implications For Future Research
  • References
  • Appendix 7A: The 1996 National Household Education Survey
• Chapter 8. Psychological Well-Being And Educational Achievement Among Immigrant Youth
  • Introduction
  • Data And Definition Of Variables
  • Descriptive Tabulations
  • Empirical Analyses
  • Conclusion
  • References
• Chapter 9. Passages To Adulthood: The Adaptation Of Children Of Immigrants In Southern California
  • Immigrants And Their Types: The San Diego Longitudinal Sample
  • Children Of Immigrants: A Portrait
  • Acknowledgments
  • References
  • Appendix 9A
• Chapter 10. Receipt Of Public Assistance By Mexican American And Cuban American Children In Native And Immigrant Families
  • Introduction
  • Results
  • Summary And Conclusions
  • References
  • Appendix 10A: Data And Measures
  • Appendix 10B: Measures
  • Appendix 10C: Analysis Plan
• Chapter 11. Receipt Of Public Assistance By Immigrant Children And Their Families: Evidence From The Survey Of Income And Program Participation
  • Context And Background Studies
  • Data Description And Empirical Approach
  • Findings
  • Conclusions
• Chapter 12. Children In Immigrant And Nonimmigrant Farmworker Families: Findings From The National Agricultural Workers Survey
  • Introduction
  • Obstacles To Children's Well-Being
  • Unaccompanied Minors
  • Summary
  • Acknowledgments
  • References
  • Appendix 12A: Explanation Of Selected Variables
• Other Reports From The Board On Children, Youth, And Families

Suggested citation:

National Research Council and Institute of Medicine (1999). Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Committee on the Health and Adjustment of Immigrant Children and Families, Donald J. Hernandez, editor. Board on Children Youth and Families. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation under contract number 282-95-0020 and the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development under cooperative agreement number NO1-HD-6-3253, by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement in the National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education of the U.S. Department of Education, by the Carnegie Corporation of New York under grant number B6347, by the W.T. Grant Foundation under grant number 94160394, by the Rockefeller Foundation under grant number SI9522, and by the California Wellness Foundation under grant number 9700139. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.