Social ties, ethnic enclaves and Latina/o health

Researchers have posited that one potential explanation for nativity differences in Latino health may be the strength of social ties among immigrants. We examined the association between nativity status and social ties using data from the Chicago Community Adult Health Study. We employed OLS regressions to model the effect of nativity status on five outcomes: informal social integration; social network diversity; network size; instrumental support; and informational support. Using multilevel mixed effects regressions, we estimated the association between Latino/immigrant neighborhood composition on our outcomes, and whether these relationships varied by nativity status. Lastly, we examined the relationship between social ties and immigrants' length of time in the U.S. After controlling for individual-level characteristics, immigrant Latinos had significantly lower levels of social ties than their U.S.-born counterparts for all our outcomes, except informational support. Latino/immigrant neighborhood composition was positively associated with being socially integrated and having larger and more diverse social networks. The associations between two of our outcomes (informal social integration and network size) and living in a neighborhood with greater concentrations of Latinos and immigrants were stronger for U.S.-born Latinos than immigrant Latinos. U.S.-born Latinos maintained a significant social ties advantage compared to immigrants—regardless of length of time in the U.S.—for informal social integration, network diversity, and network size. At the individual level, our findings challenge the expectation that Latino immigrants would have higher levels of social ties than their U.S.-born counterparts. Our study underscores the importance of contexts that promote the development of social ties.