There are competing perspectives on the impact of Hispanic immigrants’ social networks on health; the Hispanic health paradox views networks as sources of resilience, whereas the tenuous ties perspective views networks as sources of risk. In this study, I explore the effect of networks on health by examining three network pathways: social capital, social bonding, and network stress. Using egocentric social network data from the VidaSana Study, a survey of 547 Hispanic immigrants in Indiana, I investigate how each network pathway is associated with physical health, mental health, and health care utilization. Results show that networks with greater capital, namely, more network health knowledge, promote physical health and health care access, whereas social bonding, operationalized as close and dense networks, benefits mental health and health care utilization. Network stress contributes to worse mental health yet improved health care access. Implications for social networks and health research among the Hispanics and more broadly are discussed.

中文翻译：

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弹性还是风险？评估连接西班牙裔移民网络与健康的三种途径


对于西班牙裔移民的社交网络对健康的影响，存在着不同的观点。西班牙裔健康悖论将网络视为复原力的来源，而脆弱关系的观点则将网络视为风险的来源。在这项研究中，我通过研究三种网络途径来探讨网络对健康的影响：社会资本、社会联系和网络压力。 VidaSana 研究是一项针对印第安纳州 547 名西班牙裔移民的调查，利用该研究中以自我为中心的社交网络数据，我调查了每条网络路径与身体健康、心理健康和医疗保健利用之间的关系。结果表明，拥有更多资本的网络，即更多的网络健康知识，可以促进身体健康和医疗保健的获取，而作为紧密而密集的网络运作的社会联系，有利于心理健康和医疗保健的利用。网络压力会导致心理健康状况恶化，但会改善医疗保健的可及性。讨论了对西班牙裔乃至更广泛的社交网络和健康研究的影响。