The Impact of Ethnic-Immigrant Status and Obesity-Related Risk Factors on Behavioral Problems among US Children and Adolescents
Table 5
Multivariate weighted least squares and logistic regressions showing the impact of ethnic-immigrant status and sociodemographic and obesity-related risk factors on behavioral problems among US children aged 6–17 years: the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health (N = 60,787).
Covariate
Behavioral problems index
Serious behavioral problem
Adjusted mean1
SE
P value
Adjusted odds ratio2
95% CI
Age (years)
6–9
101.6
0.36
Reference
1.00
Reference
10-11
101.5
0.55
0.937
1.28
1.02−1.59
12–14
101.0
0.42
0.309
1.25
1.05−1.50
15–17
98.9
0.46
<0.001
1.14
0.93−1.39
Gender
Male
102.1
0.31
<0.001
1.50
1.31−1.72
Female
99.2
0.31
Reference
1.00
Reference
Ethnic-immigrant status
Hispanic children of immigrant parents
97.3
1.03
0.149
2.57
1.22−5.40
Hispanic children of US-born parents
100.4
1.08
<0.001
2.99
1.43−6.29
White children of immigrant parents
101.7
0.94
<0.001
3.44
1.62−7.31
White children of US-born parents
102.0
0.27
<0.001
3.14
1.57−6.25
Black children of immigrant parents
98.6
2.12
0.141
3.55
1.37−9.23
Black children of US-born parents
98.6
0.69
0.010
2.83
1.40−5.74
Asian children of immigrant parents
95.1
1.17
Reference
1.00
Reference
Asian children of US-born parents
101.7
2.40
0.013
3.12
1.04−9.36
Other children of immigrant parents
97.8
1.97
0.236
2.87
1.22−6.75
Other children of US-born parents
102.8
0.81
<0.001
3.67
1.78−7.59
Mother's duration of residence in the US (years)
<5
97.8
2.04
0.070
0.46
0.23−0.95
5–9
97.7
1.50
0.014
0.85
0.49−1.46
10–14
96.4
1.81
0.006
0.76
0.41−1.42
15+
99.0
0.88
0.009
0.80
0.58−1.10
US born
101.5
0.30
Reference
1.00
Reference
Child's race/ethnicity
Non-Hispanic white
101.6
0.29
0.017
1.78
0.99−3.21
Non-Hispanic black
98.3
0.64
0.909
1.64
0.90−3.01
Hispanic
100.0
0.80
0.263
1.78
1.00−3.18
American Indian/Alaska native
100.6
1.54
0.286
1.66
0.81−3.42
Asian
98.5
1.22
Reference
1.00
Reference
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
100.8
2.25
0.369
2.80
1.18−6.66
Non-Hispanic mixed race
102.2
0.97
0.019
2.15
1.14−4.05
Other
102.3
2.24
0.139
1.81
0.54−6.04
Household composition
Two-parent biological
99.2
0.31
Reference
1.00
Reference
Two-parent stepfamily
104.6
0.72
<0.001
1.99
1.60−2.46
Single mother
102.9
0.56
<0.001
1.61
1.33−1.95
Other family type
102.3
0.83
<0.001
1.79
1.43−2.24
Household poverty status (ratio of family income to poverty threshold)
<100%
103.6
0.67
<0.001
2.07
1.64−2.62
100–199%
101.1
0.58
0.01
1.63
1.31−2.03
200–399%
100.3
0.38
0.044
1.27
1.05−1.52
≥400%
99.3
0.35
Reference
1.00
Reference
Perceived neighborhood safety
Unsafe
103.9
0.71
<0.001
1.47
1.20−1.79
Safe
100.2
0.24
Reference
1.00
Reference
Television watching (number of hours per day)
<1
98.7
0.42
Reference
1.00
Reference
1
99.9
0.42
0.048
1.11
0.88−1.39
2
101.1
0.37
<0.001
1.30
1.05−1.62
>2
103.3
0.52
<0.001
1.65
1.32−2.05
Physical activity (number of days per week)
0
106.0
0.92
<0.001
2.01
1.63−2.49
1-2
103.0
0.66
<0.001
1.56
1.27−1.91
3-4
101.1
0.39
<0.001
1.23
1.04−1.47
5 or more
99.0
0.31
Reference
1.00
Reference
Sports participation
Yes
99.6
0.26
Reference
1.00
Reference
No
102.3
0.41
<0.001
1.64
1.41−1.90
Sleep behavior (number of nights child getting adequate sleep during past week)
0
110.8
1.54
<0.001
3.23
2.47−4.22
1–4
109.3
0.84
<0.001
2.77
2.28−3.37
5-6
103.1
0.39
<0.001
1.39
1.18−1.64
7
98.0
0.26
Reference
1.00
Reference
BMI status of child
Normal weight
100.5
0.30
Reference
1.00
Reference
Overweight
101.2
0.58
0.293
1.04
0.87−1.24
Obese
101.4
0.50
0.139
1.14
0.95−1.36
Adjusted by multivariate least squares regression for child's age, gender, ethnic-immigrant status (or race/ethnicity and mother's duration of residence in the US), household composition, household poverty status, perceived neighborhood safety, TV watching, physical activity, sports participation, sleep behavior, and overweight/obesity status. Adjusted by multivariate logistic regression for the same covariates as in the least squares model.
