Showing papers in "Socius in 2022"

Dependency and Hardship in the Gig Economy: The Mental Health Consequences of Platform Work

Abstract: The authors investigate the relationship between platform work engagement and worker mental health on the basis of two nationally representative samples of Canadian workers. Integrating insights from the job demands–resources model and Schor’s idea of “platform dependence,” the authors examine whether a dependent attachment to the platform economy is associated with poorer mental health. Multivariate analyses reveal that dependent platform workers report higher levels of psychological distress than secondary platform workers, wage workers, and the traditional self-employed. In contrast to work conditions, which contribute little to these distress patterns, financial strain explains approximately 50 percent of dependent platform workers’ higher distress. Contingency analyses reveal that financial strain also exacerbates the mental health penalties associated with dependent platform work. These findings support a “dependent-precarity” perspective of platform work stress, raising questions about the future health challenges posed by platform work in a postpandemic economy.

Mask Refusal Backlash: The Politicization of Face Masks in the American Public Sphere during the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract: This research shows how face masks took on discursive political significance during the early stages of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in the United States. The authors argue that political divisions over masks cannot be understood by looking to partisan differences in mask-wearing behaviors alone. Instead, they show how the mask became a political symbol enrolled into patterns of affective polarization. This study relies on qualitative and computational analyses of opinion articles (n = 7,970) and supplemental analyses of Twitter data, the transcripts of major news networks, and longitudinal survey data. First, the authors show that antimask discourse was consistently marginal and that backlash against mask refusal came to prominence and did not decline even as masking behaviors normalized and partly depolarized. Second, they show that backlash against mask refusal, rather than mask refusal itself, was the primary way masks were discussed in relation to national electoral, governmental, and partisan themes.

Overestimation of COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage in Population Surveys Due to Social Desirability Bias: Results of an Experimental Methods Study in Germany

Abstract: In Germany, studies have shown that official coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination coverage estimated using data collected directly from vaccination centers, hospitals, and physicians is lower than that calculated using surveys of the general population. Public debate has since centered on whether the official statistics are failing to capture the actual vaccination coverage. The authors argue that the topic of one’s COVID-19 vaccination status is sensitive in times of a pandemic and that estimates based on surveys are biased by social desirability. The authors investigate this conjecture using an experimental method called the item count technique, which provides respondents with the opportunity to answer in an anonymous setting. Estimates obtained using the item count technique are compared with those obtained using the conventional method of asking directly. Results show that social desirability bias leads some unvaccinated individuals to claim they are vaccinated. Conventional survey studies thus likely overestimate vaccination coverage because of misreporting by survey respondents.

New Methods and the Study of Vulnerable Groups: Using Machine Learning to Identify Immigrant-Oriented Nonprofit Organizations

Abstract: Many migrants are vulnerable due to noncitizenship, linguistic or cultural barriers, and inadequate safety-net infrastructures. Immigrant-oriented nonprofits can play an important role in improving immigrant well-being. However, progress on systematically evaluating the impact of nonprofits has been hampered by the difficulty in efficiently and accurately identifying immigrant-oriented nonprofits in large administrative data sets. We tackle this challenge by employing natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) techniques. Seven NLP algorithms are applied and trained in supervised ML models. The bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT) technique offers the best performance, with an impressive accuracy of .89. Indeed, the model outperformed two nonmachine methods used in existing research, namely, identification of organizations via National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities codes or keyword searches of nonprofit names. We thus demonstrate the viability of computer-based identification of hard-to-identify nonprofits using organizational name data, a technique that may be applicable to other research requiring categorization based on short labels. We also highlight limitations and areas for improvement.

Transportation Insecurity in the United States: A Descriptive Portrait

Abstract: Transportation insecurity is a condition in which a person is unable to regularly move from place to place in a safe or timely manner and has important implications for the study of poverty and inequality. Drawing on nationally representative survey data and a new, validated measure of transportation insecurity, the Transportation Security Index, the authors provide the first descriptive portrait of transportation insecurity in the United States, offering national estimates, examining which demographic groups are most likely to experience this condition and considering what factors are correlated with it. The authors find that one in four adults experience transportation insecurity. Adults who live in poverty, do not own cars, live in urban areas, are younger, have less education, and are non-White experience the greatest transportation insecurity. Correlates analyses largely confirm these descriptive differences. Such high rates and large disparities suggest that greater investigation into this form of material hardship is warranted.

Unsettled Employment, Reshuffled Priorities? Career Prioritization among College-Educated Workers Facing Employment Instability during COVID-19

Abstract: Millions of workers experienced job instability during the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. A prevailing assumption is that such experiences of instability intensify economic rationality in workers’ career decision making as a matter of course. In contrast, the authors argue that pandemic-related employment instability may have “unsettled” workers’ lives in ways that elevated nonfinancial priorities such as meaningful work. Using proportionally representative survey data (n = 1,628), the authors compare the priorities of U.S. college-educated workers who were laid off or furloughed during the pandemic with those of workers whose jobs remained stable. Counter to expectations of heightened economic rationality, job-unstable workers were not more likely than job-stable workers to emphasize job security or salary in beliefs about good work. But they were more likely to prioritize passion for work. These findings challenge common assumptions about job prioritization in the wake of crisis-related job instability and have implications for how scholars and policy makers interpret labor force trends.

U.S. State Policy Contexts and Physical Health among Midlife Adults

Abstract: The authors examine how state policy contexts may have contributed to unfavorable adult health in recent decades, using merged individual-level data from the 1993–2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (n = 2,166,835) and 15 state-level policy domains measured annually on a conservative-to-liberal continuum. The authors examine associations between policy domains and health among adults 45 to 64 years old and assess how much of the associations are accounted for by adults’ socioeconomic, behavioral and lifestyle, and family factors. A more liberal version of the civil rights domain was associated with better health. It was disproportionately important for less educated adults and women, and its association with adult health was partly accounted for by educational attainment, employment, and income. Environment, gun safety, and marijuana policy domains were, to a lesser degree, predictors of health in some model specifications. In sum, health improvements require a greater focus on macro-level factors that shape the conditions in which people live.

Pandemic Shortfall in Marriages and Divorces in the United States

Abstract: Prior to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, marriage and divorce had been in decline across the United States. As more data are released, evidence mounts that this pattern has persisted, and in some states been magnified, during the pandemic. The authors compared the change in yearly marriage and divorce counts prior to the beginning of the pandemic (change from 2018 to 2019) to estimate an expected number of marriages and divorces for 2020. By computing a P score on the basis of expected and observed marriages and divorces in 2020, the authors determined whether individual states experienced shortfalls or surpluses of marital events. Of the 20 states with available data on marriages, 18 experienced shortfalls (exceptions included Missouri and North Dakota), for an overall sample shortfall of nearly 11 percent. Regarding divorces, 31 of the 35 states with available data also experienced shortfalls (exceptions included Hawaii, Wyoming, Arizona, and Washington), for an overall sample shortfall of 12 percent.

COVID-19 Stress and Sexual Identities

Abstract: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has disrupted lives and resulted in high levels of stress. Although the evidence at the societal level is clear, there have been no population-based studies of pandemic-based stress focusing on individuals who identify as sexual minorities. Drawing on representative data collected during the pandemic, National Couples’ Health and Time Study, the authors find that partnered (cohabiting or married) individuals who identified as sexual minorities experienced higher levels of stress than individuals who identified as heterosexual. However, variation exists observed among sexual minority adults. Although economic resources, discrimination, social and community support, and health conditions are tied to reported stress levels, they do not explain differentials according to sexual identity. These results provide evidence that sexual minority adults faced greater stress during the pandemic and the importance of recognizing that sexual minorities are not a monolithic group with varying stress responses to the pandemic.

Supernatural Sociology: Americans’ Beliefs by Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Education

Abstract: The authors analyze the 2020–2021 Chapman University Survey of American Fears (n = 1,035), the most recent nationally representative survey to examine fears of and beliefs about supernatural and paranormal phenomena, including ghosts, hauntings, zombies, psychics, telekinesis, Bigfoot or Sasquatch, Atlantis, and extraterrestrial visitation. This research examines how supernatural beliefs vary by race/ethnicity, gender, and education after adjustment for other demographic characteristics and religiosity. There were five gender differences, such that women were more likely than men to believe in or fear all nonmaterial or spiritual supernatural phenomena, as well as Atlantis. People with a bachelor’s degree or higher were less likely to believe in extraterrestrial visitation, hauntings, Bigfoot or Sasquatch, and Atlantis. There were also six beliefs and fears for which racial/ethnic differences emerged. The results highlight how gender, education, and race/ethnicity are strongly related to complex belief systems, including supernatural phenomena.

Different Hazards, Different Responses: Assessments of Flooding and COVID-19 Risks among Upstate New York Residents

Abstract: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and extreme flooding events have recently taken enormous tolls. Drawing on research into differential risk responses across hazards, the authors examine how different social processes surrounding risk from flooding and COVID-19 shape how people respond to each hazard. Data from a household survey of 498 residents in two cities in the northeastern United States reveal that levels of concern and protective measures vary across the two hazards. Whereas climate polarization does not appear to influence flood risk responses, COVID-19 responses appear strongly polarized. However, having a known risk condition can offset Republicans’ doubts about COVID-19. In addition, whereas people of color express greater concern about flooding, white people take more protective measures, and women are more likely than others to take protective measures against COVID-19. Contrasting stakes, immediacy, dread, and polarization surrounding flooding and COVID-19 intersect with social inequalities to produce differing patterns of risk response.

The Age of Satisficing? Juggling Work, Education, and Competing Priorities during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic continues to shape individuals’ decisions about employment and postsecondary education. The authors leverage data from a longitudinal qualitative study of educational trajectories to examine how individuals responded to the shifting landscape of work and education. In the final wave of interviews with 56 individuals who started their postsecondary education at a community college 6 years ago, the authors found that most respondents described engaging in satisficing behaviors, making trade-offs to maintain their prepandemic trajectories where possible. More than a quarter of individuals, primarily those with access to fewer resources, described trajectories fraught with insecurity; they struggled to juggle competing obligations, especially in the face of an unpredictable labor market. A small portion of participants described making optimizing decisions, which were sometimes risky, to prioritize their aspirations. These descriptive patterns may partially explain mechanisms shaping recent shifts in employment and postsecondary education, including lower labor-market engagement and declines in college enrollment.

Corrupting Ecologically Unequal Exchange? India and Forest Loss in a Cross-National Perspective

Abstract: Drawing on ecologically unequal exchange theory and previous cross-national research, the authors assess whether wood exports from peripheral nations to India are related to increased forest loss in the exporting nations. The authors also build on this perspective by assessing if corruption interacts with the ecologically unequal exchange of wood exports to India. In this regard, the authors hypothesize that corruption creates an “institutional context” whereby bribes, kickbacks, and embezzlement by government officials translate into the prioritization of consumptive practices in the short term rather than advocating for long-term investments such as conservation. Toward this end, the authors expect that wood exports to India increase forest loss more in peripheral nations with higher rather than lower levels of corruption. The authors find support for this hypothesis using ordinary least squares regression for a sample of 67 low- and middle-income nations. The authors conclude by discussing the theoretical, methodological, and policy implications that follow from the interaction finding.

Do Parents Matter for Student Loan Repayment after Graduation?

Abstract: Previous studies suggest that a college degree is the great equalizer leveling the playing field. However, the rapidly growing educational debt of college graduates might restrict their life chances throughout adulthood, particularly for those raised in socioeconomically disadvantaged families. This study uses data from the National Survey of College Graduates to examine whether parents’ socioeconomic status is related to their children’s student loan repayment after graduation. Holding the amount borrowed for completing higher education constant, college graduates with less educated parents hold a larger amount of educational debt in adulthood compared with their counterparts with more educated parents. The association between family background and student loan repayment remains significant with the addition of controls for various covariates related to college graduates’ education, occupation, income, and other labor market outcomes. This study suggests that educational debt burdens imposed on individual college graduates limit the meritocratic power of higher education.

Cops on Campus: The Racial Patterning of Police in Schools

Abstract: This article describes how the use of sworn law enforcement in American schools is patterned by school racial composition. Three distinct measures are constructed using data from the Civil Rights Data Collection and the School Survey on Crime and Safety: police prevalence, the degree of exposure that students have to police officers within their schools, and the roles of officers within those schools. Results show that police have become increasingly prevalent in schools with the largest shares of white students, especially at the elementary level. Yet youth in schools with the most Black, Latinx, and Native American students experience the highest exposure to police, and police in these schools are more frequently directed to carry out punitive tasks such as discipline. Student exposure to police is also relatively common in the whitest schools, but officers in these settings are more often used for tasks unrelated to punishment, such as teaching.

Race-Specific, State-Specific COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Adjusted for Age

Abstract: The authors provide the first age-standardized race/ethnicity-specific, state-specific vaccination rates for the United States. Data encompass all states reporting race/ethnicity-specific vaccinations and reflect vaccinations through mid-October 2021, just before eligibility expanded below age 12. Using indirect age standardization, the authors compare racial/ethnic state vaccination rates with national rates. The results show that white and Black state median vaccination rates are, respectively, 89 percent and 76 percent of what would be predicted on the basis of age; Hispanic and Native rates are almost identical to what would be predicted; and Asian American/Pacific Islander rates are 110 percent of what would be predicted. The authors also find that racial/ethnic vaccination rates are associated with state politics, as proxied by 2020 Trump vote share: for each percentage point increase in Trump vote share, vaccination rates decline by 1.08 percent of what would be predicted on the basis of age. This decline is sharpest for Native American vaccinations, although these are reported for relatively few states.

Reining in Punitive Discipline: Recent Trends in Exclusionary School Discipline Disparities

Abstract: Concerns around disparities in suspensions and expulsions from schools in the United States have resulted in a concerted effort to reduce the use of exclusionary school discipline. In this article, the authors describe trends in the use of exclusionary discipline in Indiana and Oregon, two U.S. states with different school discipline policy climates. The findings point to a substantial decline in the use of suspensions and other forms of exclusionary discipline in both states. The authors further find that racial and socioeconomic disparities have recently narrowed in both states, though Black students and students who were identified as economically disadvantaged remain likely to be disproportionately exposed to exclusionary discipline. These trends, and their timing, illustrate the broad-based change in disciplinary norms that has occurred in the U.S. over the past decade.

Diversifying the Professoriate

Abstract: The primary means of social and intellectual reproduction in the professoriate is through mentoring doctoral students who become faculty mentors and publish research. However, opportunities to transition into such roles are not equal, and underrepresented groups face challenges building and sustaining their representation in the professoriate. What are social resources enabling them to overcome these challenges? To study this, the authors analyze nearly all PhD recipients in the United States from 1980 to 2015 (~1.03 million) and follow their careers. Women and underrepresented minorities are less likely to transition into academia than men and whites, but their chances increase when they are paired with same-attribute advisors and when they have significant group representation in their departments. In contrast, men and white scholars receive no costs or benefits from different- or same-attribute advisors. These findings warrant inspection to see how such relations can be fostered in all mentors.

Sociospatial Disparities in “Third Place” Availability in the United States

Abstract: Tertiary to home and work, “third places” serve as opportunity structures that transmit information and facilitate social capital and upward mobility. However, third places may be inequitably distributed, thereby exacerbating disparities in social capital and mobility. The authors use tract-level data from the National Neighborhood Data Archive to examine the distribution of third places across the United States. There were significant disparities in the availability of third places. Higher poverty rates were associated with fewer third places. Tracts with the smallest shares of Black and Hispanic populations had comparatively more third places. However, this racial disadvantage was not linear, suggesting potential buffering effects in places with the largest shares of Black and Hispanic populations. There was also a rural disadvantage, except in the most isolated rural tracts. This study demonstrates the value of conceptualizing and measuring third places to understand sociospatial disparities in the availability of these understudied opportunity structures.

A Guide to Analyzing Large N, Large T Panel Data

Abstract: Fixed effects estimation of a static model with robust or panel corrected standard errors is commonly used to model large N, large T panel data. However, this approach is biased and inconsistent in the presence of dynamic misspecification, slope heterogeneity, and cross-sectional dependence. Common correlated effects estimation of a dynamic model has been advanced to address these issues but is rarely used in sociology. Here, I provide an overview of the large N, large T panel data literature, and I conduct an array of Monte Carlo experiments to compare the fixed effects estimator to the common correlated effects estimator regarding the aforementioned issues. I show that fixed effects estimation with robust or panel corrected standard errors do not address these problems, which is most evident with high levels of slope heterogeneity and lag misspecification, and its performance worsens as the time dimension expands. In contrast, the common correlated effects estimator produces superior estimates as T increases and is robust to slope heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence. Following the experiments, I present an example by examining the drivers of fossil fuel consumption at the U.S. state level from 1960 to 2018, and I conclude by presenting a decision-making framework for researchers to use to make informed decisions when modeling large N, large T panel data.

Net Worth Poverty and Child Development

Abstract: The authors investigate whether net worth poverty (NWP) reduces children’s well-being. NWP—having wealth (assets minus debts) less than one fourth of the federal poverty line—is both theoretically and empirically distinct from income poverty (IP) and is the modal form of poverty among children. Data come from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and its Child Development Supplement on children ages 3 to 17 years observed between 2002 and 2019. The authors use linear mixed-effects models to investigate the associations among NWP, IP, and four cognitive and behavioral outcomes. NWP reduces children’s cognitive scores and was associated with increases in both problem behavior scores. Negative associations for NWP are similar in magnitude to those found for IP. Much of the NWP effect operates through asset deprivation rather than high debt. The results illustrate the potential risks many children, previously overlooked in studies of IP, face because of wealth deprivation.

How Norms Emerge from Conventions (and Change)

Abstract: Social norms regulate our behavior in a variety of mundane and far-reaching contexts, from tipping at the restaurant to social distancing during a pandemic. However, how social norms emerge, persist, and change is still poorly understood. Here the authors investigate experimentally whether spontaneously emerging behavioral regularities (i.e., conventions) gain normativity over time and, if so, whether their normative underpinning makes them resistant to changes in economic incentives. To track the coevolution of behavior and normativity, the authors use a set of measures to elicit participants’ first- and second-order normative beliefs and their (dis)approval of other participants’ behaviors. The authors find that even in the limited duration of their lab experiment, conventions gain normativity that makes these conventions resistant to change, especially if they promote egalitarian outcomes and the change in economic incentives is relatively small. These findings advance our understanding of how cognitive, social and economic mechanisms interact in bringing about social change.

Internship Participation in the United States by Student and School Characteristics, 1994 to 2017

Abstract: College internships have become seemingly ubiquitous, yet evidence of when and for whom participation has changed over time remains limited. This visualization uses data from the College Senior Survey, an annual nationwide exit survey of baccalaureate graduates, to document internship participation by student and school characteristics between 1994 and 2017. Recent graduates are more than twice as likely to participate as those from the mid-1990s; however, the results indicate significant and sustained inequalities for lower income students, first-generation students, public school students, and students from less selective schools. These ongoing participation gaps for students with less individual and institutional privilege underscore the need to consider internship access as a form of educational and labor market disadvantage.

Assessing the Causal Link between the COVID-19 Pandemic and Racial Discrimination

Abstract: In this article, we report the results of a randomized controlled experiment that examines how exposure to information about a global pandemic from Asia affects white Americans’ prosocial behavior towards white, black, and Asian Americans. We find that when exposed to a new disease threat from Asia, (1) white Americans donate significantly less money to Asian American recipients than to white or black American recipients, (2) liberals and conservatives are equally likely to discriminate, and (3) a significant spike in media attention about violence against Asians inhibited this discriminatory behavior—at least temporarily. Our experiment allows us to rule out alternative explanations for the unequal treatment of Asian Americans, providing evidence of a causal link between the COVID-19 pandemic and racial discrimination. The study contributes to knowledge about the spillover effects of external threats on race relations and has implications for public health and science communication.

The Long-Lasting Effects of Schooling: Estimating the Effects of Science and Math Identity in High School on College and Career Outcomes in STEM

Abstract: A growing body of research suggests that the beliefs, interests, expectations and other attitudes acquired early in life play a critical role in shaping individuals’ career trajectories. Yet the causal pathways connecting early-acquired attitudes and future outcomes are not well understood. In this study, the authors argue that a plausible way to understand this relationship is by postulating a direct effect of early-acquired attitudes on future outcomes that is not mediated by more recent values of these attitudes. This effect is referred to as the controlled direct effect. Using a nationally representative sample, the authors implement inverse probability–weighted marginal structural models to estimate the controlled direct effect of math and science identity beliefs in ninth grade on career and college outcomes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The results suggest that identifying with science or math in school increases the odds of enrolling in a STEM major in college as well expecting to have a STEM career.

Gender and Educational Variation in How Temporal Dimensions of Paid Work Affect Parental Child Care Time

Abstract: Using the 2017–2018 American Time Use Survey, the authors investigate how a comprehensive set of temporal conditions of paid work affects parental child care time, with attention to gender and education. Temporal work conditions include access to leave, inflexible start and end times, short advance notice of work schedules, types of work shifts, and usual days worked. Among mothers, the only significant relationship is between usual days worked and routine care time. Among fathers, lacking access to paid leave and having inflexible start and end times are associated with reduced routine care time, and working on variable days of the week is related to less developmental care time. Temporal work conditions also shape the educational gap in parental child care time. Importantly, nonstandard shifts and working on weekends widen the educational gradient in mothers’ developmental care time. The findings imply that temporal work conditions amplify gender inequality in work-family lives and families as agents of class reproduction.

Effects of Mandatory Sexual Misconduct Training on University Campuses

Abstract: The authors explore whether mandatory, universal, in-person sexual misconduct training achieves its goals to build knowledge about sexual assault and harassment and increase intentions to report episodes of assault. The authors present results from three studies with quasi-experimental designs as well as interviews with students and staff members at a diverse public university in the western United States. The surprising finding is that participating in training makes women students less likely to say they that will report experiences of sexual assault to university authorities. The training produces some small positive effects: students gain broader definitions of sexual misconduct and are less likely to endorse common rape myths, and women students express less sexist attitudes immediately after training. This study raises questions about whether one-shot training helps reduce sexual violence and increase reporting on college campuses and whether universities should invest in these types of training.

Can Bureaucrats Break Trust? Testing Cultural and Institutional Theories of Trust with Chinese Panel Data

Abstract: What is the relationship between trust and the quality of political institutions in a society? According to an influential cultural perspective, social trust—the belief that most people can be trusted—is a value inculcated during individuals’ formative years, and remains fixed afterward. A second perspective holds that social trust reflects experiences throughout the life course, particularly interactions with public institutions and officials. The authors test these cultural and institutional theories using data from three waves of the China Family Panel Studies, assessing how political and social trust respond to treatment by public officials that respondents consider unfair. The authors find that such experiences, which they show in many cases likely meant being a victim of corruption, are associated with declines in trust. Yet the effects are short lived: within two years both types of trust revert to their original levels. These results therefore provide mixed support for both theories and suggest a reconciliation between them.

Who Deserves Protection? How Naming Potential Beneficiaries Influences COVID-19 Vaccine Intentions

Abstract: Typically, vaccination is perceived as self-interested act, but it is also a community-oriented action that benefits other members in society, as high vaccine uptake reduces disease transmission. Drawing on the notion of deservingness, the authors ran an online experiment (n = 516) to assess whose interests motivate people from across the political spectrum to engage in a community-oriented action: the intention to receive a coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine. Results show that liberals and conservatives resonate with self-oriented and community-oriented message frames differently. When a community-oriented message focuses on hard-hit groups such as racial minorities, this increases vaccine intent among liberals but decreases vaccine intent among conservatives. A message focusing on community in a generic sense is the only message frame that increases vaccine intent among moderates and the message that induces the least resistance among conservatives. The findings suggest that members of racial and ethnic minority groups are still excluded from boundaries of moral concern.

Micro-level Interactions and Health Stratification: Abuses Committed against Deported Mexican Immigrants

Abstract: Although immigration enforcement has been linked to poor health outcomes among Latinx populations in the United States, little is known about how interpersonal interactions between immigrants and immigration enforcement agents potentially influence Latinx immigrant health. The author estimated heterogeneity in health outcomes among deported Mexican immigrants by experiences of immigration enforcement abuse using data from respondents to the Survey of Migration in the Northern Border of Mexico (n = 28,853). Experiences of abuse were significantly associated with worse self-rated health and various health symptoms, with particularly large disparities for mental health symptomology. Given the magnitude of the deportation regime enacted against Mexican immigrants in the United States, thousands of immigrants may return to Mexico at an elevated risk for relatively poorer health. These results emphasize the importance of considering micro-level interactions as a mechanism of health stratification within the larger system of immigration enforcement in the United States.