Laia Bécares
Biographic Data
| ID | 126103 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Laia Bécares |
| GIVEN NAMES | Laia |
| FAMILY NAME | Bécares |
| SIGNATURE | BÉCARES L |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Manchester |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4207-074X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 58 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 461 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 57 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 11 |
Has Covid-19 Exacerbated Ethnic-Related Inequalities in Cancer Care in the UK? Findings from a Narrative Review with a Systematic Search
Ethnic inequalities in cancer care have long been a concern in the UK, with minoritised populations facing inequalities in access, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these inequities, worsening barriers to care. This narrative literature review, which incorporates a systematic search, examines the impact of the pandemic on ethnic inequalities in cancer care in the UK. Findings indicate that due to the pandemic, …
Sexuality fluidity in Thailand: Free association narratives among LGBTQ+ individuals
Sexuality fluidity is shaped by individual processes and cultural values and might thus be perceived and experienced differently across different sociocultural contexts. This qualitative study explored how sexuality fluidity was understood and experienced by Thai LGBTQ+ individuals. Using free association narrative interviews with 14 participants and reflexive thematic analysis, the findings show that sexuality fluidity in Thailand emerges as a r…
Methodological assumptions and limitations of life expectancy estimates for minoritised ethnic groups in the UK: Implications for validity, practice, and policy
Experimental life expectancy estimates calculated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for the period 2011 to 2014 show significantly longer life expectancy for minoritised ethnic groups in England and Wales when compared with the white majority. These findings are in contrast to a large body of evidence of poorer health outcomes among certain minoritised ethnic groups (predominately Bangladeshi, Black Caribbean, Gypsy/Traveller and Pakist…
Exploring the Determinants of Quality of Life for LGBTQ + People: Findings from UK Participants in the Global Pride Survey
Despite recent initiatives to understand and respond better to LGBTQ + lives in the UK, there remains a lack of detailed knowledge about the needs and experiences of the LGBTQ + population at an everyday level, including drivers of quality of life, and its association with mental health. This paper draws on findings from the UK dataset in the Global Pride survey collected in 2022. Data from 172 individuals aged 19–77 from diverse sexual and gende…
Prevalence of past homelessness, mental health and health risk behaviours among sexual minority young people in the UK: Insights from the Millennium Cohort Study
Despite evidence on higher risk for homelessness and worse mental health in sexual minority (SM) adolescents, no study has examined these associations using nationally-representative data in the UK. This study examined inequalities in the prevalence of past homelessness by sexual identity, and whether rates of poor mental health and health-risk behaviours (HRBs) differ by sexual identity and past homelessness in adolescents. This cross-sectional …
LGBTQ+ Identity Disclosure and Mental Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review of Qualitative and Longitudinal Quantitative Studies
The Health of First Generation Caribbeans Across the Diaspora: Findings from 2000-2005 Population Data Surveys from Guyana, Jamaica, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom
The scientific literature continues to recognize the changing health status of migrants residing in geographic destinations outside their homeland. However, very little research has compared the health of Caribbean residents within their homeland with those across various diasporic destinations. This five-country study examined the physical and mental health of Caribbeans within the region and those in host countries, and whether the length of ti…
Associations Between Experiences of Racial Discrimination Across the Life Course and Mental Health: Exploring Direct and Indirect Pathways
We aim to explore the association between racial discrimination across the life course on common mental disorders (CMD) during the COVID-19 pandemic, testing direct and indirect pathways. Cross-sectional data were obtained from the Evidence for Equality National Survey (Feb-Nov 2021, N = 8897 ethnic minority people aged 18-60). The survey measured experiences of racial discrimination across multiple domains and time periods. Path analyses were us…
Racial socialization across the life course: Insights From Three Countries
Indigenous, migrant, and minoritized racial/ethnic peoples experience pervasive racism. Racism prompts families to prepare children for these experiences through racial socialization. In this paper we analyse data from eleven focus groups with 60 Indigenous and minoritized racial/ethnic older people in the UK, the US, and Aotearoa/NZ to explore how racial discrimination over the life course influences racial socialization. Examining experiences r…
Ethnic inequalities in age-related patterns of multiple long-term conditions in England: Analysis of primary care and nationally representative survey data
Little is known about the patterning of multiple long-term conditions (MLTCs) by age, ethnicity and across conceptualisations of MLTCs (e.g. MLTCs with/without mental health conditions [MHCs]). We examined ethnic inequalities in age-related patterns of MLTCs, and combinations of physical and MHCs using the English GP Patient Survey and Clinical Practice Research Datalink. We described the association between MLTCs and age using multilevel regress…
The influence of a hostile environment on a syndemic of depression, stress and chronic limiting illness among LGBTQ+ people during the Covid-19 pandemic
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning (LGBTQ+) are at greater risk of poorer COVID-19 prognosis due to higher levels of chronic disease and a greater impact on mental health from pandemic mitigation strategies due to worse pre-pandemic mental health. We examine how a hostile social system contributes to LGBTQ+ people's negative health experiences during the pandemic through adopting a syndemic framework and using data from The Q…
The persistence and pervasiveness of racial discrimination in Great Britain: Capturing Experienced Racial Discrimination Over Time and Life Domains
Racism has been long-established to be associated with social, economic, and health inequalities for minoritised ethnic groups, but existent evidence likely under-estimates the extent and persistence of experienced racial discrimination due to limitations in the measurement of timing and domains of life where racial discrimination occurs. We analysed data captured by a novel retrospective measure of life course experiences of racial discriminatio…
Racism and Ethnic Inequality in a Time of Crisis: Findings from the Evidence for Equality National Survey
Ethnic inequalities in health in later life, 1993–2017: The persistence of health disadvantage over more than two decades
Ethnic inequalities in health and wellbeing across the early and mid-lifecourse have been well-documented in the United Kingdom. What is less known is the prevalence and persistence of ethnic inequalities in health in later life. There is a large empirical gap focusing on older ethnic minority people in ethnicity and ageing research. In this paper, we take a novel approach to address data limitations by harmonising six nationally representative s…
Ethnic inequalities in positive Sars-CoV-2 tests, infection prognosis, Covid-19 hospitalisations and deaths: Analysis of 2 years of a record linked national cohort study in Scotland
BACKGROUND: This study aims to estimate ethnic inequalities in risk for positive SARS-CoV-2 tests, COVID-19 hospitalisations and deaths over time in Scotland. METHODS: We conducted a population-based cohort study where the 2011 Scottish Census was linked to health records. We included all individuals ≥ 16 years living in Scotland on 1 March 2020. The study period was from 1 March 2020 to 17 April 2022. Self-reported ethnic group was taken from th…
Pathways to ethnic inequalities in Covid-19 health outcomes in the United Kingdom: A systematic map
Racism as the fundamental cause of ethnic inequities in Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy: A theoretical framework and empirical exploration using the UK Household Longitudinal Study
Ethnic inequities in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy have been reported in the United Kingdom (UK), and elsewhere. Explanations have mainly focused on differences in the level of concern about side effects, and in lack of trust in the development and efficacy of vaccines. Here we propose that racism is the fundamental cause of ethnic inequities in vaccine hesitancy. We introduce a theoretical framework detailing the mechanisms by which racism at the s…
The enduring effects of racism on health: Understanding direct and indirect effects over time
Experiences of racism and racial discrimination are associated with poorer mental and physical health outcomes for people from minoritised ethnic groups. One mechanism by which racism leads to poor health is through reduced socio-economic resources, but the evidence documenting the direct and indirect effects of racism on health via socio-economic inequality over time is under-developed. The central aims of this paper are to better understand how…
Tabulating experiences of racism and racial discrimination across the life course
Indigenous, migrant, racial, and ethnic minority group members report experiences of racism that are lifelong and damaging. To understand the context that shapes these experiences, we developed a tabular approach to analyzing focus group interviews of life course experiences of racism. The approach was grounded in critical realism and narrative analysis. Using these foundations, stories of personal experiences of racism were understood to provide…
Health and socio-economic inequalities by sexual orientation among older women in the United Kingdom: Findings from the UK Household Longitudinal Study
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer (LGBQ) women living in the United Kingdom (UK) experience worse health than their heterosexual peers throughout their lives, but less is known about health inequalities in older age. This study uses population-level data to examine inequalities among LGBQ older women and women who prefer not to disclose their sexuality, compared to heterosexual women. Analyses use data from women aged 50 and older who were active …
Armed conflict as a determinant of children malnourishment: A cross-sectional study in The Sudan
Conflict-exposed children are particularly vulnerable to malnourishment, and this association is mostly explained by key socio-demographic factors. With the prolonged political instability in The Sudan, sustainable nutritional interventions are necessary to ease hard conditions in conflict-exposed states, and also among disadvantaged families in conflict-free regions
Older LGBT+ health inequalities in the UK: Setting a research agenda
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans+ (LGBT+) people report poorer health than the general population and worse experiences of healthcare particularly cancer, palliative/end-of-life, dementia and mental health provision. This is attributable to: (a) social inequalities, including ‘minority stress’; (b) associated health-risk behaviours (eg, smoking, excessive drug/alcohol use, obesity); (c) loneliness and isolation, affecting physical/mental health a…
Maternal experiences of ethnic discrimination and subsequent birth outcomes in Aotearoa New Zealand
Race/ethnic inequalities in early adolescent development in the United Kingdom and United States
BACKGROUND: Comparative literature investigating race/ethnic patterning of children's health has found racial/ethnic minority status to be linked to health disadvantages. Less is known about differences during early adolescence, a period during which health outcomes are linked to later life health. OBJECTIVE: Using the UK Millennium Cohort Study (n = 10,188) and the US Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Kindergarten Cohort (n ~ 6,950), we examin…
Cumulative Effects of Bullying and Racial Discrimination on Adolescent Health in Australia
This study examined how cumulative exposure to racial discrimination and bullying victimization influences the health of Australian adolescents (n = 2802) aged 10 to 11 years (19.3% visible ethnic minorities [nonwhite, non-Indigenous]; 2.6% Indigenous) using data from three waves (2010-2014) of the nationally representative Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). Cumulative exposure to racial discrimination and bullying victimization ha…
The buffering effects of ethnic density on experienced racism and health
Cumulative Effect of Racial Discrimination on the Mental Health of Ethnic Minorities in the United Kingdom
Cumulative exposure to racial discrimination has incremental negative long-term effects on the mental health of ethnic minority people in the United Kingdom. Studies that examine exposure to racial discrimination at 1 point in time may underestimate the contribution of racism to poor health
Composition, Concentration and Deprivation: Exploring their Association with Social Cohesion among Different Ethnic Groups in the UK
Although studies in the US have shown an association between the ethnic residential composition of an area and reports of decreased social cohesion among its residents, this association is not clear in the UK, and particularly for ethnic minority groups. The current study analyses a merged dataset from the 2005 and 2007 Citizenship Survey to assess the evidence for an association between social cohesion and ethnic residential concentration, compo…
A longitudinal examination of maternal, family, and area-level experiences of racism on children's socioemotional development: Patterns and possible explanations
The association between experienced racial discrimination and poor health is now well documented, particularly among adult populations. However, longitudinal studies of the association between racism and child health are limited, and evidence on how racial discrimination experienced by members of children's immediate environment impact on child development, and the mechanisms by which this occurs, is scarce. We examined the longitudinal associati…
Ethnic density and area deprivation: Neighbourhood effects on Māori health and racial discrimination in Aotearoa/New Zealand
Some studies suggest that ethnic minority people are healthier when they live in areas with a higher concentration of people from their own ethnic group, a so-called ethnic density effect. To date, no studies have examined the ethnic density effect among indigenous peoples, for whom connections to land, patterns of settlement, and drivers of residential location may differ from ethnic minority populations. The present study analysed the Māori sam…
Associations between maternal experiences of racism and early child health and development: Findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study
Background Emerging evidence suggests that experienced racism might help explain observed ethnic inequalities in early child health and development. There are few studies outside the US context and none that consider mothers' experiences of racism in relation to a range of early childhood health and developmental markers. Methods The authors used cross-sectional data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study on 2136 mothers and their 5-year-old childre…
Examining the differential association between self-rated health and area deprivation among white British and ethnic minority people in England
Ethnic density effects on health and experienced racism among Caribbean people in the US and England: A cross-national comparison
The association between maternal and partner experienced racial discrimination and prenatal perceived stress, prenatal and postnatal depression: Findings from the growing up in New Zealand cohort stud…
BACKGROUND: A growing number of studies document the association between maternal experiences of racial discrimination and adverse children's outcomes, but our understanding of how experiences of racial discrimination are associated with pre- and post-natal maternal mental health, is limited. In addition, existent literature rarely takes into consideration racial discrimination experienced by the partner. METHODS: We analysed data from the Growin…
Cumulative Effects of Bullying and Racial Discrimination on Adolescent Health in Australia
This study examined how cumulative exposure to racial discrimination and bullying victimization influences the health of Australian adolescents (n = 2802) aged 10 to 11 years (19.3% visible ethnic minorities [nonwhite, non-Indigenous]; 2.6% Indigenous) using data from three waves (2010-2014) of the nationally representative Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). Cumulative exposure to racial discrimination and bullying victimization ha…
Fear of racism, employment and expected organizational racism: Their Association With Health
This study highlights variations in the types of racial discrimination most commonly reported across different socio-demographic characteristics. Despite substantial differences in the experience of racial discrimination, the detrimental impact of racism on health was the same across socio-demographic groups
Maternal experiences of ethnic discrimination and subsequent birth outcomes in Aotearoa New Zealand
Ethnic density effects on psychological distress among Latino ethnic groups: An examination of hypothesized pathways
Studies among US Latinos provide the most consistent evidence of ethnic density effects. However, most studies conducted to date have focused on Mexican Americans, and it is not clear whether ethnic density effects differ across Latino sub-groups, generational status, or measures of ethnic density. In addition, the mechanisms behind ethnic density are not well understood. This study uses a multi-group structural equation modeling approach to anal…
Social capital, ethnic density and mental health among ethnic minority people in England: A mixed-methods study
The association between ethnic density and social capital varies depending on the level of measurement of social capital and differed across ethnic minority groups. Social capital was not found to mediate the association between ethnic density and health. Structural differences in the characteristics of the neighbourhoods where different ethnic groups reside are reflected in the accounts of their daily experiences, and we observed different narra…
Comparing subjective and objective neighbourhood deprivation and their association with health over time among older adults in England
The importance of neighbourhood on individual health is widely documented. Less is known about the relative role of objective and subjective reports of neighbourhood conditions, how their effect on health changes as people age, and whether they moderate each other's impact on health. This study uses the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) to determine whether older adults report worse self-rated health as they age, and whether this differ…
Bullying Victimization and Racial Discrimination Among Australian Children
Objectives. To compare the prevalence of bullying victimization and racial discrimination by ethnicity. Methods. We completed a cross-sectional analysis of 3956 children aged 12 to 13 years from wave 5 (2011–2012) of the nationally representative Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Results. Bullying victimization and racial discrimination were weakly associated and differently patterned by ethnicity. Children from visible minorities report…
A social network analysis of substance use among immigrant adolescents in six European cities
Ethnic Density and Depressive Symptoms Among African Americans: Threshold and Differential Effects Across Social and Demographic Subgroups
Objectives. We examined the association between Black ethnic density and depressive symptoms among African Americans. We sought to ascertain whether a threshold exists in the association between Black ethnic density and an important mental health outcome, and to identify differential effects of this association across social, economic, and demographic subpopulations. Methods. We analyzed the African American sample (n = 3570) from the National Su…
The ethnic density effect on alcohol use among ethnic minority people in the UK
BACKGROUND: Despite lower alcohol drinking rates of UK ethnic minority people (excluding Irish) compared with those of the white majority, events of racial discrimination expose ethnic minorities to unique stressors that elevate the risk for escapist drinking. Studies of ethnic density, the geographical concentration of ethnic minorities in an area, have found racism to be less prevalent in areas of increased ethnic density, and this study hypoth…
Parental Migration, Intergenerational Obligations and the Paradox for Left-Behind Boys in Rural China
Drawing on in-depth interviews with caregivers of left-behind children (LBC) in rural China, this article seeks to explore their understanding of migration motives and the social process of taking on care-giving roles for LBC. The authors argue that there are underlying socio-cultural explanations pertaining to economic motives for migration; such as, making contributions to social events (weddings and funerals) in village life, and fulfilling so…
Ethnic inequalities in health in later life, 1993–2017: The persistence of health disadvantage over more than two decades
Ethnic inequalities in health and wellbeing across the early and mid-lifecourse have been well-documented in the United Kingdom. What is less known is the prevalence and persistence of ethnic inequalities in health in later life. There is a large empirical gap focusing on older ethnic minority people in ethnicity and ageing research. In this paper, we take a novel approach to address data limitations by harmonising six nationally representative s…
Older LGBT+ health inequalities in the UK: Setting a research agenda
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans+ (LGBT+) people report poorer health than the general population and worse experiences of healthcare particularly cancer, palliative/end-of-life, dementia and mental health provision. This is attributable to: (a) social inequalities, including ‘minority stress’; (b) associated health-risk behaviours (eg, smoking, excessive drug/alcohol use, obesity); (c) loneliness and isolation, affecting physical/mental health a…
Intergenerational differences in beliefs about healthy eating among carers of left-behind children in rural China: A qualitative study
China's internal migration has left 61 million rural children living apart from parents and usually being cared for by grandparents. This study aims to explore caregivers' beliefs about healthy eating for left-behind children (LBC) in rural China. Twenty-six children aged 6–12 (21 LBC and 5 non-LBC) and 32 caregivers (21 grandparents, 9 mothers, and 2 uncles/aunts) were recruited in one township in rural China. Children were encouraged to keep fo…
The influence of a hostile environment on a syndemic of depression, stress and chronic limiting illness among LGBTQ+ people during the Covid-19 pandemic
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning (LGBTQ+) are at greater risk of poorer COVID-19 prognosis due to higher levels of chronic disease and a greater impact on mental health from pandemic mitigation strategies due to worse pre-pandemic mental health. We examine how a hostile social system contributes to LGBTQ+ people's negative health experiences during the pandemic through adopting a syndemic framework and using data from The Q…
The persistence and pervasiveness of racial discrimination in Great Britain: Capturing Experienced Racial Discrimination Over Time and Life Domains
Racism has been long-established to be associated with social, economic, and health inequalities for minoritised ethnic groups, but existent evidence likely under-estimates the extent and persistence of experienced racial discrimination due to limitations in the measurement of timing and domains of life where racial discrimination occurs. We analysed data captured by a novel retrospective measure of life course experiences of racial discriminatio…
Sex, College Major, and Attribution of Responsibility in Empathic Responding to Persons with HIV Infection
This investigation studied the influence of sex, college major, and attributed responsibility on college students' empathic responding towards persons infected with HIV. We hypothesized that (1) women would score higher on empathy than men; (2) nursing and psychology majors would score higher on empathy than business and computer science majors; and (3) participants would score higher on empathy towards a target who contracted HIV through blood t…
Sex, College Major, and Attribution of Responsibility in Empathic Responding to Persons With Hiv Infection
The buffering effects of ethnic density on experienced racism and health
Fear of racism, employment and expected organizational racism: Their Association With Health
This study highlights variations in the types of racial discrimination most commonly reported across different socio-demographic characteristics. Despite substantial differences in the experience of racial discrimination, the detrimental impact of racism on health was the same across socio-demographic groups
Understanding the effect of ethnic density on mental health: Multi-level investigation of survey data from England
OBJECTIVES: To determine if living in areas where higher proportions of people of the same ethnicity reside is protective for common mental disorders, and associated with a reduced exposure to discrimination and improved social support. Finally, to determine if any protective ethnic density effects are mediated by reduced exposure to racism and improved social support. DESIGN: Multi-level logistic regression analysis of national survey data, with…
O1-1.5 Examining the differential association between self-rated health and area deprivation among white British and ethnic minority people in England
Introduction Studies that have examined interactions between individual and contextual characteristics have revealed variations in the social gradient in health depending on area-level deprivation, reporting increased health inequality in less deprived areas. The present study examines whether similar variations are found between the environment and other individual characteristics, exploring whether the link between area deprivation and self-rat…
Self-rated health and area deprivation: Exploring a differential association among white British and ethnic minority people in England
Introduction Studies that have examined interactions between individual and contextual characteristics have revealed variations in the social gradient in health depending on area-level deprivation, reporting increased health inequality in less deprived areas. The present study examines whether similar variations are found between the environment and other individual characteristics, exploring whether the link between area deprivation and self-rat…
The ethnic density effect on alcohol use among ethnic minority people in the UK
BACKGROUND: Despite lower alcohol drinking rates of UK ethnic minority people (excluding Irish) compared with those of the white majority, events of racial discrimination expose ethnic minorities to unique stressors that elevate the risk for escapist drinking. Studies of ethnic density, the geographical concentration of ethnic minorities in an area, have found racism to be less prevalent in areas of increased ethnic density, and this study hypoth…
Composition, Concentration and Deprivation: Exploring their Association with Social Cohesion among Different Ethnic Groups in the UK
Although studies in the US have shown an association between the ethnic residential composition of an area and reports of decreased social cohesion among its residents, this association is not clear in the UK, and particularly for ethnic minority groups. The current study analyses a merged dataset from the 2005 and 2007 Citizenship Survey to assess the evidence for an association between social cohesion and ethnic residential concentration, compo…
Impact of ethnic density on adult mental disorders: Narrative review
Ethnic Density Effects on Physical Morbidity, Mortality, and Health Behaviors: A Systematic Review of the Literature
It has been suggested that people in racial/ethnic minority groups are healthier when they live in areas with a higher concentration of people from their own ethnic group, a so-called ethnic density effect. Ethnic density effects are still contested, and the pathways by which ethnic density operates are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature examining the ethnic density effect on physical health, mort…
Associations between maternal experiences of racism and early child health and development: Findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study
Background Emerging evidence suggests that experienced racism might help explain observed ethnic inequalities in early child health and development. There are few studies outside the US context and none that consider mothers' experiences of racism in relation to a range of early childhood health and developmental markers. Methods The authors used cross-sectional data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study on 2136 mothers and their 5-year-old childre…
Examining the differential association between self-rated health and area deprivation among white British and ethnic minority people in England
Ethnic density effects on health and experienced racism among Caribbean people in the US and England: A cross-national comparison
Social capital, ethnic density and mental health among ethnic minority people in England: A mixed-methods study
The association between ethnic density and social capital varies depending on the level of measurement of social capital and differed across ethnic minority groups. Social capital was not found to mediate the association between ethnic density and health. Structural differences in the characteristics of the neighbourhoods where different ethnic groups reside are reflected in the accounts of their daily experiences, and we observed different narra…
Ethnic density, health care seeking behaviour and expected discrimination from health services among ethnic minority people in England
OP58 Exploring Household Dynamics: The Reciprocal Effects of Parent and Child Characteristics
Background Studies show a strong relationship between maternal mental health and child socio-emotional development. This literature is based on examinations of dyadic relationships, where maternal mental health is hypothesised to have a direct effect on children’s development. However, household dynamics are complex, with other household members having an effect both on the mother and the child. Furthermore, the child’s characteristics can also h…
Ethnic density and area deprivation: Neighbourhood effects on Māori health and racial discrimination in Aotearoa/New Zealand
Some studies suggest that ethnic minority people are healthier when they live in areas with a higher concentration of people from their own ethnic group, a so-called ethnic density effect. To date, no studies have examined the ethnic density effect among indigenous peoples, for whom connections to land, patterns of settlement, and drivers of residential location may differ from ethnic minority populations. The present study analysed the Māori sam…
Ethnic Density and Depressive Symptoms Among African Americans: Threshold and Differential Effects Across Social and Demographic Subgroups
Objectives. We examined the association between Black ethnic density and depressive symptoms among African Americans. We sought to ascertain whether a threshold exists in the association between Black ethnic density and an important mental health outcome, and to identify differential effects of this association across social, economic, and demographic subpopulations. Methods. We analyzed the African American sample (n = 3570) from the National Su…
Ethnic density effects on psychological distress among Latino ethnic groups: An examination of hypothesized pathways
Studies among US Latinos provide the most consistent evidence of ethnic density effects. However, most studies conducted to date have focused on Mexican Americans, and it is not clear whether ethnic density effects differ across Latino sub-groups, generational status, or measures of ethnic density. In addition, the mechanisms behind ethnic density are not well understood. This study uses a multi-group structural equation modeling approach to anal…
Does the timing of parental migration matter for child growth? A life course study on left-behind children in rural China
Being left behind during early childhood, as compared to not being left behind, could lead to slower growth rates of height and weight for boys. The life course approach adopted in this study suggests that early childhood is a critical period of children's growth in later life, especially for boys who are left behind. The gender paradox in China, where sons are preferred, but being left behind appears to affect boys more than girls, needs further…
Intergenerational differences in beliefs about healthy eating among carers of left-behind children in rural China: A qualitative study
China's internal migration has left 61 million rural children living apart from parents and usually being cared for by grandparents. This study aims to explore caregivers' beliefs about healthy eating for left-behind children (LBC) in rural China. Twenty-six children aged 6–12 (21 LBC and 5 non-LBC) and 32 caregivers (21 grandparents, 9 mothers, and 2 uncles/aunts) were recruited in one township in rural China. Children were encouraged to keep fo…
A longitudinal examination of maternal, family, and area-level experiences of racism on children's socioemotional development: Patterns and possible explanations
The association between experienced racial discrimination and poor health is now well documented, particularly among adult populations. However, longitudinal studies of the association between racism and child health are limited, and evidence on how racial discrimination experienced by members of children's immediate environment impact on child development, and the mechanisms by which this occurs, is scarce. We examined the longitudinal associati…
A multilevel analysis of the relationship between parental migration and left-behind children’s macronutrient intakes in rural China
Objective China’s internal migration has left 61 million children living apart from their parent(s) in rural areas. The present study aimed to examine whether the relative contributions of macronutrients (protein, fat and carbohydrate) to total energy intake differ between children left behind by the father or mother, compared with children from intact families. Design Drawing on a longitudinal study, the China Health and Nutrition Survey (1997–2…
Parental Migration, Intergenerational Obligations and the Paradox for Left-Behind Boys in Rural China
Drawing on in-depth interviews with caregivers of left-behind children (LBC) in rural China, this article seeks to explore their understanding of migration motives and the social process of taking on care-giving roles for LBC. The authors argue that there are underlying socio-cultural explanations pertaining to economic motives for migration; such as, making contributions to social events (weddings and funerals) in village life, and fulfilling so…
Medicine (36 works) · Ethnic group (34 works) · Psychology (34 works) · Sociology (34 works) · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research (25 works) · Demography (24 works) · Demography (19 works) · Mental health (19 works) · Health disparities and outcomes (18 works) · Migration, Health and Trauma (18 works)