Life Exposures to Traumatic Events and Chronic Strains Among Older Mexican-Origin Individuals

Abstract

The United States Latino population has experienced unprecedented growth in the past several decades. Despite these growing numbers there has been relatively little research that explores how exposure to negative life events and chronic strains affects the physical health outcomes of Latinos. This thesis examines the extent to which traumatic life events and chronic strains affect the physical health outcomes of foreign-born and native-born Mexican-origin individuals (age 45 an older) residing along the U.S./Mexico border. Results from the multivariate analysis show that there is no direct association between traumatic life events and self-reported health. However, chronic strains were found to negatively impact the well-being of both foreign-born and native-born groups. Finally, the hypothesis suggesting that foreign-born respondents would fare better in terms of health (Latino/Hispanic paradox) compared to their native-born counterparts is not supported, with the results shown to be consistently in the opposite direction. Future research is needed on the interplay between different types of stressors and physical health outcomes among Mexican-origin individuals.