Does cultural distance explain differences in health among migrants in Europe?

Purpose: Examine whether cultural distance explains (part of) the variation in migrantsU+2019 health in Europe. Theory: Migrants are known to have worse health outcomes. Previous research has shown that acculturation is a key determinant of migrantsU+2019 health. We argue that this acculturation is more difficult when the cultural distance between migrantsU+2019 host country and their country of origin is higher. Therefore, we hypothesize that migrantsU+2019 health is negatively associated with this cultural distance. Methods: We run multilevel regression models on data merged from two sources. Self-perceived health and control variables for social background of approximately 4,000 migrants (residing in 27 European countries, originating from more than 200 countries) are obtained from the European Social Survey. Besides, we use an index of cultural distance based on country differences in values, norms and attitudes measured in the World Values Survey. Findings: The higher the cultural distance, the worse the health status of migrants. This finding is driven by first generation migrants and independent of gender and socioeconomic status. Discussion: Our results should be taken into account by (i) policymakers targeting particular minorities withntheir health and migration policies, and (ii) individual migrants when considering different potential host countries.

Jaar van publicatie:2016