Perceived Discrimination and Health among Immigrants in Europe According to National Integration Policies

Carme Borrell, Laia Palència, Xavier Bartoll, Umar Ikram and Davide Malmusi
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Carme Borrell: Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, Barcelona 08023, Spain
Laia Palència: Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, Barcelona 08023, Spain
Xavier Bartoll: Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, Barcelona 08023, Spain
Umar Ikram: Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1100 DD, the Netherlands
Davide Malmusi: Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, Barcelona 08023, Spain

IJERPH, 2015, vol. 12, issue 9, 1-13

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: discrimination; immigrant generation; national immigrant integration policy; low income countries; perceived health; depression (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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