Neighborhood ethnic density and self-rated health: Investigating the mechanisms through social capital and health behaviors

Tse Chuan Yang, Lei Lei, Aysenur Kurtulus

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

While living with co-ethnics benefits minorities’ health, the so-called ethnic density effect, little is known about the mechanisms through which neighborhood ethnic density influences self-rated health. We examine two pathways, namely neighborhood social capital and health behaviors, with a 2010 survey collected in Philadelphia (2297 blacks and 492 Hispanics). The mediation analysis indicates that (1) living with co-ethnics is beneficial to both blacks’ and Hispanics’ self-rated health, (2) neighborhood social capital and health behaviors mediate almost 15% of the ethnic density effect for blacks, and (3) the two mechanisms do not explain why living with co-ethnics improves Hispanics’ health.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)193-202
Number of pages10
JournalHealth and Place
Volume53
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Ethnic density
  • Health behaviors
  • Philadelphia
  • Self-rated health
  • Social capital

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Health(social science)
  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Life-span and Life-course Studies

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Neighborhood ethnic density and self-rated health: Investigating the mechanisms through social capital and health behaviors'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this