Healthy Immigrants? Exploring Depressive Symptoms Among Caribbean and Mexican Immigrants
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Healthy Immigrants? Exploring Depressive Symptoms Among Caribbean and Mexican Immigrants Ynesse Abdul-Malak 1 Received: 20 August 2019 / Revised: 1 November 2019 / Accepted: 28 November 2019 # W. Montague Cobb-NMA Health Institute 2019
Abstract Are there disparities in depressive symptoms among immigrant groups from different countries? With data from the New Immigrant Survey (2003), which includes immigrants from Mexico, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Jamaica, this paper examines the odds of depressive symptoms using a series of logistic regression analyses. It draws on segmented assimilation and the cumulative inequality theories to understand and explicate the extent to which immigrants’ demographic characteristics, preimmigration experiences, and acculturation in the USA might have an impact on immigrants’ mental health outcomes. Being from Haiti; Dominican Republic; Cuba; and a woman, with unfavorable childhood health, and migrated at an early age were statistically significant predictors of depressive symptoms. Compared to Mexican immigrants, Cuban and Dominican immigrants reported higher odds of depressive symptoms, controlling for gender, age, education, and pre-immigration experiences. By contrast, Haitian and Jamaican immigrants reported lower odds of depressive symptoms. Female immigrants had higher odds of reporting depressive symptoms compared to their male counterparts. Relative to immigrants with good childhood health, those with unfavorable childhood health had higher odds of reporting worse health outcomes. In the logistic regression models, immigrants who migrated at older age reported lower odds of depressive symptoms. By shedding light on the health status of understudied Caribbean immigrant groups in comparison with Mexican immigrants, this study challenges the healthy migrant effect and serves as a starting point to guide policies that aim at decreasing health disparities among different immigrant groups. Keywords Race/ethnicity . Depressive symptoms . Immigration . Mexicans . Caribbean immigrants
Introduction There are significant differences in immigrants’ physical health outcomes, such as chronic conditions. But do these differences also apply to mental health? Specifically, are there disparities in depressive symptoms among immigrant groups from different countries and regions? In addition, do these patterns differ for women and men? In general, depression and depressive symptoms are correlated with poor physical health conditions and increased mortality [1]. In fact, depression can increase mortality in those diagnosed with chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart problems. How do Caribbean immigrants fare in terms of their mental health? Caribbean immigrants constitute 50% of all black immigrants in the USA, and their number continues to rise [2]. Therefore, investigating their mental health can have
* Ynesse Abdul-Malak [email protected] 1
Colgate University, 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346, USA
significant policy benefits. However, academics have not placed subst
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