18 – 20 September 2024, Rome, Italy
Mendola, D., Busetta, A. (2024) “Health and discrimination among refugees in Germany”. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Association for Applied Statistics, Rome, 18-20 September 2024.
Abstract: Health is not only a matter of material conditions but is also highly dependent on perceptions and feelings. This paper analyzes the relationship between certain sociopsychological factors and health conditions among refugees in Germany. In particular, we focus on the role of discrimination in explaining the health of refugees, while also considering its interrelations with life satisfaction, resilience, and loneliness. Since these are all latent constructs, we estimated a structural equation model to explore their relationships.
The analyses are based on the first two waves of the IAB-BAMF-SOEP survey of refugees. It stands out that both health and discrimination are not equally distributed among refugees of different ethnic origins. Eritreans report better health and higher satisfaction with their health conditions, while Afghans are more concerned than others about anti-foreign sentiment in Germany. As expected, the SEM shows that discrimination is negatively associated with life satisfaction and health while increasing feelings of loneliness. Higher resilience lowers perceived discrimination and is positively associated with better health.
