The current immigration policy environment in the United States (U.S.) has poignantly affected Latino communities, with evidence of detrimental mental health and psychosocial effects. Few studies have employed conceptual and analytic models that incorporate interpersonal effects when assessing immigrant citizenship status and mental health. This study utilized dyadic analytic methods to simultaneously assess associations of personal and partner citizenship with psychological distress among a nationally representative sample of cohabiting Latinos age 18-65.

methods

The Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) prepared the dataset linking index adults with cohabiting partners in the 2016-17 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) sample. Respondents self-reported U.S. citizenship and index adults self-reported psychological distress using the K6 scale. Structural equation modeling using the R package lavaan.survey accounted for clustering by couple and the complex sampling design, and tested independent and conjoint associations of personal and partner citizenship with psychological distress.

results

The sample included 3,740 Latino adults and their cohabiting partners. Sociodemographic characteristics were comparable between index adults and partners. Nearly a third of respondents were not U.S. citizens. Index citizenship was positively associated with psychological distress (β=0.44, p=.03), while partner citizenship was not (β=0.32, p=.12) in a preliminary structural equation model adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics.

conclusion

National surveillance data provide an important resource for understanding complex health patterns in U.S. populations. Our results highlight how dyadic analyses can test independent and conjoint effects of personal and partner citizenship in Latino populations, and the importance of examining legal status as a social determinant of health.