The Decline of Immigrant and Refugee Health during the Life Course

Annalisa Busetta , University of Palermo
Silvia Loi, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Anna-Kathleen Piereth, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

The healthy immigrant effect posits that immigrants are typically healthier than the native populations in the receiving countries. This advantage is a long-lasting effect of positive immigrant selection. However, the positive selection may not hold true for refugees. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, and focusing on the population aged 18-80, we study physical and mental health trajectories of refugees, and compare them with those of natives, first- and second-generation immigrants. We find that refugees do not benefit from the health selection at younger ages, and display levels of physical health that are significantly lower than those of natives, and those of first- and second-generation immigrants during their whole life course. We also observe that the levels of mental health among refugees are consistently and significantly lower compared to first- and second-generation immigrants, and the decline in mental health at older ages is more pronounced.

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 Presented in Session 107. Migration and Health