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...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Borrell i Thió, Carme|||0000-0002-1170-2505, Palència, Laia|||0000-0002-3726-9893, Bartoll, Xavier|||0000-0001-6865-8034, Ikram, Umar, Malmusi, Davide|||0000-0003-1877-3581
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2015
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:299417
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/299417
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.3390/ijerph120910687
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Depression
Discrimination
Immigrant generation
Low income countries
National immigrant integration policy
Perceived health
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.