Self-perceived workplace discrimination and mental health among immigrant workers in Italy: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background The process of immigration is associated with poor mental and physical health. While the workplace represents an important context of social integration, previous studies evaluating the effect of discrimination experienced in the workplace found worse mental health status among immigrants. The aim of this study was to investigate whether self-perceived workplace discrimination has any role in the mental health status of immigrants living and working in Italy, evaluating the contribution of other personal experiences, such as loneliness and life satisfaction. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 12,408 immigrants (aged 15–64) living and working in Italy. Data were derived from the first national survey on immigrants carried out by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat). Mental health status was measured through the Mental Component Summary (MCS) of the SF-12 questionnaire. A linear multivariate linear regression was carried out to evaluate the association between mental health status, self-perceived workplace discrimination, and sociodemographic factors; path analysis was used to quantify the mediation effect of self-perceived loneliness, level of life satisfaction, and the Physical Component Summary (PCS). Results Mental health status was inversely associated (p < 0.001) with self-perceived workplace discrimination (β:-1.737), self-perceived loneliness (β:-2.653), and physical health status (β:-0.089); it was directly associated with level of life satisfaction (β:1.122). As confirmed by the path analysis, the effect of self-perceived workplace discrimination on MCS was mediated by the other factors considered: self-perceived loneliness (11.9%), level of life satisfaction (20.7%), and physical health status (3.9%). Conclusions Our study suggests that self-perceived workplace discrimination is associated with worse mental health status in immigrant workers through personal experiences in the workplace and explains the effect of the exposure to workplace discrimination on immigrants’ psychological well-being. Our findings suggest that an overall public health response is needed to facilitate the social integration of immigrants and their access to health services, particularly those services that address mental health issues.

Barriers to Accessing Primary Care and Appropriateness of Healthcare Among Immigrants in Italy

“…Given the current situation in Italy, immigrants could become the least healthy segment of the population ( 22 ), as is the case in countries with a longer tradition of immigration ( 40 ). In particular, the socioeconomic shock induced by the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy as well as in other European countries may be a potential source of social exclusion and marginalization for the immigrant population, a condition that could affect their well-being or health status ( 41 ).…”

“…An overall public health response based on the WHO's Health in All Policies is necessary; although not designed specifically for migrant health, it has an undeniable role in addressing social determinants of health ( 41 ). Policies aimed at improving socioeconomic conditions and promoting integration should include promotion of healthy lifestyles and appropriate access to health care, counteracting the emergence of health inequities in immigrant populations ( 42 ).…”

Mental Health Challenges of Young Labor Migrants from the Healthcare Professionals Perspective: Lessons Learned from a Multi-Country Meeting

“…Separation from family and social networks, lack of social support, difficulties in adapting to a new society, compounded by loneliness, discriminatory behaviour by the host society, and stigmatized identity [6,11,15,[17][18][19][20], delays in obtaining legal employment status, uncertain socioeconomic status, legal uncertainties, and lack of knowledge about social rights all increase the risk of poor psychological wellbeing among YLI's [15][16][17].…”

“…Even worse, economic turmoil during a crisis such as COVID-19 increases competition, inequality, and discrimination in the workplace due to limited job opportunities. All these factors may aggravate the mental health problems among migrant workers [10][11][12]. A recent study reported that YLI's are psychologically vulnerable [13], and most labor migrants fear being abandoned by their employers and stranded in a foreign country with no means of support [12].…”

Taking Care of Forced Migrants Together: Strengths and Weaknesses of Interorganizational Work from the Perspective of Social Workers

“…Moreover, it is widely recognized that language plays a key role in the process of social inclusion [22]; for this reason, refugees must learn the local language and cultural aspects and have legal services and employment assistance to better settle in the host communities [21,23]. At the same time, it is important to set up, alongside medical care services, those aimed at taking care of the mental health of refugees since mental health across immigrants is mainly affected by stressful and traumatic experiences that take place before, during and after the migration [24][25][26]. According to Stockermer et al (2020), following the "European Refugee Crisis" of 2015 [27], the number of mental health care needs to be increased in host countries [28]; as a consequence, public and private mental health care systems were immediately overburdened, and often the emergency department was the only access to mental health care system [29,30].…”