The Impact of Employment on Immigrant Mental Health

Results from a National Survey

Bibliographic Data

ID10550894
AuthorsLindsey Disney (0000-0001-6611-7437, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume66
Issue2
Pages93-100
Publication date2021-02-09
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Work (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0037-8046 • E-ISSN: 1545-6846
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/sw/swab005
PMID33842958
OpenAlexW3154257211
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited34

Mental illness and unemployment are both well documented in the literature as potentially having harmful and even detrimental impacts on individuals' lives. However, less is known about the intersections of mental illness and unemployment in the U.S. immigrant population. This study examined whether unemployment is a predictor of mental illness in a sample of immigrants in the United States (N = 3,732). Data were from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, a three-wave, nationally representative dataset. Multivariate logistical regression analysis examined whether the main effects of a negative employment status were associated with a mental health diagnosis at Wave 2. Negative employment status was a significant predictor of all mental health diagnoses in the multivariate logistic regression models. The results from this study indicate that unemployment is associated with mental health problems among immigrants. This article presents discussion and implications for social work practice, policy, and research

Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Geography · Immigration · Logistic regression · Mental health · Mental illness · Multivariate analysis · Multivariate statistics · National Health Interview Survey · Population · Psychiatry · Sociology · Unemployment · Demography · Employment and Welfare Studies · Medicine · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research · Gerontology