Psychological distress by age at migration and duration of residence in Sweden

Bibliographic Data

ID4597334
AuthorsHelena Honkaniemi (0000-0003-0800-0892, Centre for Health Equity Studies, corresponding author), Santiago Juarez (0000-0001-9086-7588, Centre for Health Equity Studies), Sol Pía Juárez, Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi (0000-0001-6593-9092, MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit), Mikael Rostila (0000-0002-6973-0381, Centre for Health Equity Studies)
Year2020
Volume250
Pages112869
Publication date2020-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Science & Medicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0277-9536 • E-ISSN: 1873-5347
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112869
PMID32120203
OpenAlexW3007087641
LanguageEN
Citations received25
References cited67

Migrants suffer from worse psychological health than natives in many countries, yet the extent to which this varies by age at migration and duration of residence in the receiving context remains unexplored in Sweden. Drawing on a life course approach, we investigate differences in psychological distress by age at migration and duration of residence in working-age migrants to Sweden, and examine the role of various social determinants of health in explaining these differences relative to Swedish-born. Using pooled cross-sectional data from the 2011/2015 Health on Equal Terms survey in Västra Götaland Region, Sweden (n = 58,428), we applied logistic regression analysis to calculate predicted probabilities and average marginal effects (AME) of migrant status, by age at migration and duration of residence, on psychological distress. Analyses were stratified by sex and region of origin and controlled for indicators of socioeconomic status (SES), social cohesion, and discrimination to assess their potential contribution to differences in migrants' and natives' psychological distress. All migrants except men from OECD-predominant regions had a greater probability of psychological distress than Swedish-born (ranging from AME 0.031 [95% Confidence Interval or CI 0.000-0.062] for OECD women to AME 0.115 [95% CI 0.074-0.156] for non-OECD men). Marginal effects of migration status on psychological distress probabilities generally increased with age at migration and duration of residence. Differences between migrants and natives were largely attenuated after controlling for social determinants, the greatest contribution coming from inequalities in social cohesion, followed by inequalities in discrimination and SES. Our results suggest a relative health advantage of early-life compared to later-life migration, albeit with worse outcomes with longer residence in Sweden. The predominance of integration opportunities in childhood strengthens calls for supportive policies to assist older migrants' integration directly upon arrival, which may ultimately improve their psychological wellbeing

Confidence interval · Context (archaeology · Geography · Logistic regression · Population · Residence · Social environment · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · Demography · Employment and Welfare Studies · Health disparities and outcomes · Medicine · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology · Gerontology

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