Mothers’ and Childrens’ Health Self-Rating: A Comparative Study Within and Across Various Ethnic Groups

Abstract

Despite Latino adults’ health advantages in the United States, they tend to have worse self-rated health (SRH) than non-Hispanic Whites. This finding extends to Latina mothers’ ratings of their children’s health, but it is unknown whether Latino children also have worse SRH than Whites. We investigate this question, as well as variations in mother-child agreement in rating the child’s health by ethnicity, and the role of mothers’ acculturation in these associations. Using survey data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we find that Mexican-origin children’s SRH is worse than non-Hispanic White children’s SRH, but Mexican-origin children’s SRH is also often better than their mothers’ ratings of the children’s health. Maternal acculturation explains some of the relationship between Mexican-origin and child SRH, with particular facets of the acculturation experience operating in different directions. We discuss the implications of these findings for understandings of racial/ethnic disparities in health, particularly among children.