Black immigrant children and neighborhood characteristics: A study by length of time in the u.s

Background: Data from the Center for American progress state that Black immigrants are a significant group in the United States—more than 3 million people comprising 8 percent of the U.S. foreign-born population. Additionally, in 2011 black immigrants had the highest unemployment rate—12.5 percent—of any foreign-born group in the United States.

Thus, this study examined the relationship of Black race and the length of time spent in the U.S. and its relationship to neighborhood and community characteristics of immigrants. Specifically, the research study examined whether immigrants were more or less likely to be uninsured depending on the quality of their neighborhood. Children of immigrants were examined for the purposes of this study.

Methods: Descriptive statistics and chi square tests of significance were conducted. The sample consisted of n= 352 children of Black immigrants. Publicly available data from the National Study of Children's Health (NSCH), 2007 were used for the analysis. Chi-square statistics and logistic regression was employed to assess the relationship between insurance and neighborhood status.

Results: Approximately 10% of children of black immigrants were uninsured. Results suggest that length of stay in the US was unrelated to insurance status, however, children who lived in poor neighborhoods with detracting elements (e.g. dilapidated housing) (25.3%) were more likely to be uninsured (p<0.01) compared to children living in neighborhoods with fewer deleterious characteristics.

Conclusions: For Black immigrants living in poor neighborhoods, the likelihood of health insurance is less than for those in “better quality” neighborhoods.