Factors that Influence Change in Hispanic
Identification:Evidence from Linked Decennial Census and American
Community Survey Data
Leticia Fernandez, Sonya R. Porter, Renuka Bhaskar & Sharon Ennis
Center for Administrative Records Research and Applications
Population Association of America MeetingsChicago, IL
April 27-29, 2017
This presentation is released to inform interested parties of ongoing research and to encourage discussion of work in progress.
The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Motivation
Fluidity (blurred ethnic boundaries) - Racial and ethnic identification may change over time, with personal circumstances, or depending on social context.
Attrition (crossed ethnic boundaries) - Some studies find that through intermarriage and socioeconomic mobility, individuals may no longer identify as Hispanic.
Hispanics are a heterogeneous population in terms of racial identification, socioeconomic status, and immigration trajectories. Do these factors influence change in Hispanic identification?
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Research Questions
Among individuals who have ever reported as Hispanic or having Hispanic ancestry:
What are the factors associated with consistently reporting as Hispanic, changing between Hispanic and non-Hispanic, and consistently reporting as non-Hispanic?
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Background
Previous research has found an association between change in Hispanic identification and… Nativity and country of origin –Native Hispanics
and those reporting pan-ethnic labels Ancestry – Mixed Hispanic and non-Hispanic
ancestry Race – May discourage formation of a Hispanic
identity Neighborhood – Ethnic composition in school
and neighborhood, exposure to culture Changes in Hispanic origin question wording
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Changes in Hispanic Origin and Race Instructions and Question Wording
2010 Census
Census 2000
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Data
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Linked data across Census 2000, 2010 Census, and the 5-year American Community Survey (ACS) 2006-2010.
Use of probability record linkage techniques to assign a unique Protected Identification Key (PIK)
Sample limited to PIKed individuals who could be linked across Census and ACS. Not representative of the Hispanic population in the U.S.
Unedited (‘as reported’) Hispanic origin, race, sex and age as provided by a household member (‘no proxy’)
Ever reporting as Hispanic or of Hispanic ancestry in Census or ACS files
Age 25 and older in ACS
Unweighted sample size 628,802; ACS-weighted sample size 11.9 million
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Census 2000 ACS 2006-2007 ACS 2008-2010 2010 Census
Weighted
Percent
1 Hispanic Hispanic Hispanic 33.8%
2 Hispanic Hispanic Non-Hispanic 0.5%
3 Hispanic Non-Hispanic Hispanic 0.8%
4 Hispanic Non-Hispanic Non-Hispanic 0.7%
5 Non-Hispanic Hispanic Hispanic 0.9%
6 Non-Hispanic Hispanic Non-Hispanic 0.7%
7 Non-Hispanic Non-Hispanic Hispanic 0.8%
8 Non-Hispanic Non-Hispanic Non-Hispanic 1.1%
9 Hispanic Hispanic Hispanic 52.4%
10 Hispanic Hispanic Non-Hispanic 0.8%
11 Hispanic Non-Hispanic Hispanic 1.0%
12 Hispanic Non-Hispanic Non-Hispanic 1.1%
13 Non-Hispanic Hispanic Hispanic 1.8%
14 Non-Hispanic Hispanic Non-Hispanic 1.3%
15 Non-Hispanic Non-Hispanic Hispanic 1.0%
16 Non-Hispanic Non-Hispanic Non-Hispanic 1.5%
Weighted
Percent 39.2% 60.8%
± Excludes proxy and allocated/edited responses to Hispanic origin, race, age and sex items, as well as individuals
who reported Two or More Races with SOR in Census 2000.
Source: Census 2000, 2010 Census and 2006-2010 ACS 5-year data.
Consistency of Hispanic Origin Reporting Across Census 2000, ACS 2006-2010 and 2010 Census, by Question Wording±
Group
“Is this person Spanish/ Hispanic/
Latino?”
“Is this person of Hispanic, Latino, or
Spanish origin?”
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I. Census 2000 & ACS 2006-2007: "Is this person
Spanish/Hispanic/Latino?" Weighted Percent
Hispanic in both 87.5%
Hispanic in Census 2000, non-Hispanic in ACS 2006-2007 3.8%
Non-Hispanic in Census 2000, Hispanic in ACS 2006-2007 3.9%
Non-Hispanic in both^ 4.8%
Total 100.0%
II. ACS 2008-2010 & 2010 Census: "Is this person of Hispanic, Latino, or
Spanish origin?" Weighted Percent
Hispanic in both 89.0%
Hispanic in ACS 2008-2010, non-Hispanic in 2010 Census 3.4%
Non-Hispanic in ACS 2008-2010, Hispanic in 2010 Census 3.3%
Non-Hispanic in both^ 4.3%
Total 100.0%
III. Census 2000 & 2010 Census: "Is this person
Spanish/Hispanic/Latino?" vs "Is this person of Hispanic, Latino, or
Spanish origin?" Weighted Percent
Hispanic in both 88.0%
Hispanic in Census 2000, non-Hispanic in 2010 Census * 3.1%
Non-Hispanic in Census 2000, Hispanic in 2010 Census * 4.4%
Non-Hispanic in both^ 4.6%
Total 100.0%
Wording has Small but Statistically Significant Effect on Hispanic Origin
Response±
± Excludes proxy and allocated/edited responses to the Hispanic origin questions and individuals who reported Two
or More Races with SOR in Census 2000.
Source: Census 2000, 2010 Census and 5-year ACS data for 2006-2010.
* Estimates are statistically significantly different at p<=.05 between the groups compared.
Included in the sample because they reported Hispanic ancestry: 25 percent reported only Hispanic ancestry, 75
percent reported mixed Hispanic and non-Hispanic ancestry.
Differences in Nativity/Years in the US (%) by Consistency in
Hispanic Response, Census 2000-2010 Census
48.6
92.5
85.6 83.8
21.0
4.3 5.8 8.0
11.3
0.8 2.1 2.8 5.2
1.1 2.2 1.6
9.4
0.8 2.1 2.3 4.5
0.4 2.3 1.5
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
Always Hispanic Always Non-Hispanic Hispanic in 2000, non-Hispanic in 2010
Non-Hispanic in 2000,Hispanic in 2010
Born in US 20+ & naturalized 20+ & not naturalized 10-19 & naturalized 10-19 & not naturalized <10
Pe
rce
nt
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Differences in English Proficiency (%) by Consistency in
Hispanic Response, Census 2000-2010 Census
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18.1
89.6
72.7 67.6
58.1
9.9
23.0 27.3
23.8
0.5 4.3 5.1
-
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
Always Hispanic Always Non-Hispanic
Hispanic in 2000,non-Hispanic in
2010
Non-Hispanic in2000, Hispanic in
2010
English only English well/very well* English not well/at all*
Pe
rce
nt
* Reported speaking another language at home
Differences in Education (%) by Consistency in
Hispanic Response, Census 2000-2010
33.5
7.2
15.0
13.2
26.7 26.1
29.1
24.6 25.2
35.7
33.6 33.8
14.6
31.1
22.3
28.5
-
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
40.0
Always Hispanic Always Non-Hispanic Hispanic in 2000, non-Hispanic in 2010
Non-Hispanic in 2000,Hispanic in 2010
No high school High school Some college College degree or higher
Pe
rce
nt
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Differences in Detailed Hispanic Background by
Consistency in Hispanic Response, Census 2000-2010
61.2
15.0
44.7 43.5
7.9
3.2 3.0 6.7 6.4
4.3 3.7
8.2 5.9
3.6 3.4
7.5
3.1 1.3 0.7 1.4
10.4
3.6 7.3
9.6 5.2
69.0
37.2
23.2
-
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
Always Hispanic Always Non-Hispanic Hispanic in 2000, non-Hispanic in 2010
Non-Hispanic in 2000,Hispanic in 2010
Mexican Central American South American Cuban Dominican Puerto Rican Other Hispanic
Pe
rce
nt
Other Hispanic=Spanish Basque, Spanish/Spaniard, Andalusian, Asturian, Castillian, Catalonian, Balearic Islander, Gallego, Valencian, Canary Islander, Latin American, Latin, Latino, Hispanic, Californio, Tejano, Nuevo Mexicano, Spanish American.
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Differences in Ancestry Reported by Consistency in
Hispanic Response, Census 2000-2010
92.4
25.2 26.5
43.4
2.9
28.2
7.6
15.7
1.1
46.7
6.6 10.4
0.9 -
45.4
23.1
2.7 -
13.9
7.4
-
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
Always Hispanic Always Non-Hispanic Hispanic in 2000, non-Hispanic in 2010
Non-Hispanic in 2000,Hispanic in 2010
Hispanic only Mixed-Hispanic listed first Mixed-Hispanic listed last Non-Hispanic only Not specified
Pe
rce
nt
Note: Of those reporting only non-Hispanic ancestries, 18 percent reported as Hispanic in Census 2000, 2010 Census and ACS; and 82 percent reported as Hispanic in at least one of these sources.
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Multiple Logistic Regression Models
Models comparing responses between Census 2000 and ACS 2006-2010, and between ACS 2006-2010 and 2010 Census
Dependent variable with three categories:
Reporting as Hispanic in both (reference);
changing from Hispanic to non-Hispanic; and
changing from non-Hispanic to Hispanic
Explanatory variables: Demographic & socioeconomic characteristics, assimilation/integration indicators, contextual factors, question wording, and data collection elements
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Findings: Factors Associated with Changes in Hispanic
Origin Response
Time in the U.S. and language – U.S. born and English monolingual
Hispanic origin background – Central & South Americans, Cubans and Other Hispanics, compared to Mexican and Puerto Rican
Ancestry – Mixed ancestries, non-Hispanic ancestries or not providing an ancestry response
Race – Black alone or Asian/Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (NHPI) alone , compared to Some Other race alone
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Findings: Factors Associated with Changes in Hispanic
Origin Response
Relationship to primary respondent – Non-nuclear relatives and unrelated household members less likely to report consistently
Hispanic origin question wording – Term ‘origin’ - more likely to report as Hispanic
Tract & Region – West region and higher percent Hispanic in the tract – more likely to report consistently
Mode of data collection – Mail-out mail-back mode – more likely to report consistently
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Conclusions
Most of the individuals in our sample (86 percent) identified consistently as Hispanic.
Individuals who changed from Hispanic to non-Hispanic are similar to those who changed in the opposite direction.
Propensity to change Hispanic response varies by race and country of origin/background, and is higher for individuals with mixed ancestries and for English-only speakers.
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