Perceived discrimination and health among immigrants in Europe according to National Integration Policies

Background: Discrimination harms immigrants’ health. The objective of this study was to analyze the association between perceived discrimination and health outcomes among first and second generation immigrants from low-income countries living in Europe, while accounting for sex and the national poli...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Borrell i Thió, Carme, Palència, Laia, Bartoll, Xavier, Ikram, Umar, Malmusi, Davide, 1980-
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2015
País:España
Institución:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:10230/58306
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10230/58306
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120910687
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Discrimination
Immigrant generation
National immigrant integration policy
Low income countries
Perceived health
Depression
Descripción
Sumario:Background: Discrimination harms immigrants’ health. The objective of this study was to analyze the association between perceived discrimination and health outcomes among first and second generation immigrants from low-income countries living in Europe, while accounting for sex and the national policy on immigration. Methods: Cross-sectional study including immigrants from low-income countries aged ≥15 years in 18 European countries (European Social Survey, 2012) (sample of 1271 men and 1335 women). The dependent variables were self-reported health, symptoms of depression, and limitation of activity. The independent variables were perceived group discrimination, immigrant background and national immigrant integration policy. We tested for association between perceived group discrimination and health outcomes by fitting robust Poisson regression models. Results: We only observed significant associations between perceived group discrimination and health outcomes in first generation immigrants. For example, depression was associated with discrimination among both men and women (Prevalence Ratio-, 1.55 (95% CI: 1.16–2.07) and 1.47 (95% CI: 1.15–1.89) in the multivariate model, respectively), and mainly in countries with assimilationist immigrant integration policies. Conclusion: Perceived group discrimination is associated with poor health outcomes in first generation immigrants from low-income countries who live in European countries, but not among their descendants. These associations are more important in assimilationist countries.