The Population, Society and Inequality Series presents

"(Un)Healthy Immigrant Citizens: Naturalization and Functional Limitations in Older Age"
with Zoya Gubernskaya, Graduate Student, Department of Sociology, UC Irvine

March 13, 2012
12:30-1:30 p.m.
Social Science Plaza B, Room 4250

Integrating theories of immigrant incorporation with a life course perspective and research on immigrant health, this talk seeks to shed light on the relationship between a key aspect of immigrant incorporation, naturalization, and a key health measure, functional limitation, among older foreign-born in the U.S. With the data from 2008-09 American Community Survey, Gubernskaya will show that because of the multiple factors involved, association between naturalization and health among older foreign-born can be both positive and negative. Specifically, for those foreign-born who immigrated at younger ages, citizenship acquisition is associated with lower probability of having functional limitations in later life presumably because naturalization is both cause and effect of acquiring more resources over the life course. For those who came to the U.S after age 50, the relationship between naturalization and health is negative, which is consistent with the idea that these immigrants are seeking naturalization to obtain access to healthcare, especially if they are in poor health.

This lecture is sponsored by the Center for Research on Immigration, Population and Public Policy.

For further information, please contact Sandy Cushman, scushman@uci.edu or 949-824-3344.