Latino parents' perception of their children's health status

Descriptive and multivariate analyses of the Hispanic health and nutrition examination survey were undertaken to describe Mexican American and Puerto Rican parents' perceptions of the health status of their young children, and to test a model of perceived health. Results suggest that ratings of poor health are substantially higher than reports for children from the general population and that the two ethnic groups differed from each other in the apparent basis for their ratings. Key predictors of health ratings for both populations were children's functional limitations, current and resolved medical conditions, and educational attainment of the head of household. Mexican-American ratings were also predicted by current and resolved developmental conditions, acculturation, and family income.