Employment-related mental health outcomes among Australian migrants: A 19-year longitudinal study

Abstract

Background: Migrants experience various stressors at different stages of migration based on their country of origin, ethnic backgrounds, migration context and host country. Employment is one important post-settlement factor associated with mental health among migrant groups. The study investigates whether the country of origin modifies the association between employment and mental health for Australian migrants. Methods: Nineteen waves of data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey were used. Using fixed-effects regression, we examined the effects of within-person changes in employment status on mental health outcomes as measured by the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5), controlling for time-varying confounders and stratified by sex and examined effect modification by country of origin. Results: The relationship between unemployment and mental health was modified by country of origin for men but not women. Unemployed men from Asian (β = −4.85, p < 0.001), African and Middle Eastern (β = −3.61, p < 0.05) countries had lower mental health scores compared to employed Australian-born men. For men, there was evidence of effect modification of the association between employment and mental health by country of origin, with the combined effect of being unemployed and being a migrant from an Asian country was almost three points lower than the summed independent risks of these factors (β = −2.72; p = 0.01). Also, for men, the combined mental health effect of not being in the labour force and coming from a non-English-speaking European country was greater than the summed effects of these factors (β = −2.33; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Tailored employment-support programmes may be beneficial for migrants from ethnic minorities, particularly those from Asian, African and Middle Eastern countries in Australia. Further research is needed to understand why the mental health of migrant men from these countries is particularly vulnerable to unemployment.

Suicide in first-generation Australian migrants, 2006–2019: a retrospective mortality study

“… 4 , 5 However, a recent systematic review shows that the evidence of migrant mental health advantages over the local-born is inconsistent and that some evidence suggests a decline in migrant mental health over time, especially for migrants in North American and European countries. 6 Several factors may contribute to this decline, migrant status (refugee vs economic), 7 the ability to secure suitable employment in the host country field, 8 unemployment, 9 , 10 and individual factors that affect the process of assimilation in their destination countries such as sex, age at migration, language proficiency, and personality traits. 11 …”