ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Legal status history, gender, and the health of Latino immigrants in the US
Gabriela León-Pérez,
Evelyn J. Patterson,
Larissa Coelho,
Corresponding Author
Gabriela León-Pérez
Department of Sociology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
Correspondence
Gabriela León-Pérez, Virginia Commonwealth University, Department of Sociology, 827 W. Franklin Street, Founders Hall, Richmond, VA 23284-2040, USA.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorEvelyn J. Patterson
Department of Sociology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
Search for more papers by this authorLarissa Coelho
Department of Sociology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorGabriela León-Pérez,
Evelyn J. Patterson,
Larissa Coelho,
Corresponding Author
Gabriela León-Pérez
Department of Sociology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
Correspondence
Gabriela León-Pérez, Virginia Commonwealth University, Department of Sociology, 827 W. Franklin Street, Founders Hall, Richmond, VA 23284-2040, USA.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorEvelyn J. Patterson
Department of Sociology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
Search for more papers by this authorLarissa Coelho
Department of Sociology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Legal status is a social determinant of health and also a dynamic characteristic that can change over time. Using longitudinal data from the New Immigrant Survey, this study examines whether prior legal status is related to Latino immigrants’ self-rated health (SRH) at the time of gaining US lawful permanent residence and if the relationship remains years later. Findings show that legal status history interacts with gender to shape the health of new legal immigrants and that the relationship changes over time. Male new arrivals exhibited better initial SRH than those with prior US experience, but the disparity disappeared by the follow-up interview (3–6 years later). Women who were previously documented reported better follow-up SRH than their counterparts, suggesting a process of cumulative advantage. In sum, different starting points on new legal immigrants’ migration histories can impact their health outcomes in the short- and long-term.
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