Working Below Skill Level as Risk Factor for Distress Among Latin American Migrants Living in Germany: A Cross-Sectional Study

Espinoza-Castro, Bernarda; Rueda, Luis E. Vásquez; López, Rossana Mendoza; Radon, Katja

doi:10.1007/s10903-018-0821-7

Cited by 14 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The 12-months prevalence of violence at the workplace was 14%. After adjustment, working below skill level was related statistically significantly to distress (OR 2.80) [81].…”

Section: Trauma Violence and Suicidal Ideationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Migrant Workers and Psychological Health: A Systematic Review

et al. 2019

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Migrant workers show an increase in the incidence of serious, psychotic, anxiety, and post-traumatic disorders due to a series of socio-environmental variables, such as loss of social status, discrimination, and separations from the family. The purpose is to elaborate a systematic review and highlight the prevailing psychological pathologies of these workers and categories most at risk. Our research included articles published from 2009 to 2019 on the major databases (Pub Med, Cochrane Library, and Scopus) using a combination of some keywords. The online search indicated 1.228 references. Using inclusion and exclusion criteria, we analyzed 127 articles, in particular 12 reviews and 115 original articles. Principal emerging disorders from the research are depressive syndrome (poor concentration at work, feeling down, or anger and somatization), anxiety, alcohol or substance abuse, and poor sleep quality. This causes low life conditions, which is also due to marginalization from the social context and strenuous work; in fact, migrant workers may suffer verbal or physical abuse, and they are often employed in dangerous, unhealthy jobs. It is therefore essential to increase the role of occupational medicine and promote wellbeing for this vulnerable job category.

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“…The 12-months prevalence of violence at the workplace was 14%. After adjustment, working below skill level was related statistically significantly to distress (OR 2.80) [81].…”

Section: Trauma Violence and Suicidal Ideationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Migrant Workers and Psychological Health: A Systematic Review

et al. 2019

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“…The prevalence of moderate to high perceived stress was 67.96% (95%CI: 65.33-70.59) and symptoms of depression was 69.69% (95%CI: 67.10-72.29). A comparable study in Europe 21 reported 63% of low-skilled workers to exhibit symptoms of distress. Moreover, stress and depression are often cited as the most predominant factors associated with reduced QOL scores, with some studies finding depression to be the most influential on QOL, and vice-versa 22 .…”

Section: Demographic Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 83%

Mental health status and quality of life among Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand

et al. 2020

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Background: Migrant workers have become a major issue for Thailand. Most of the migrants are from Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. Most are employed in jobs referred to as the “3 Ds”; difficult, dangerous and dirty. However, little is known concerning the living and working conditions, or health-related quality of life of these migrant workers. This study aims to determine factors influencing the quality of life of Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,211 Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand, using multistage random sampling from eight districts of the two provinces (Sa Kaeo and Surin) with a structured questionnaire interview. The WHOQOL-BREF was used to measure Quality of Life (QOL) with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.77. Mental health status was assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.83. Descriptive statistics provide participant characteristics. Multilevel logistic regression (MLR) were used to determine which factors significantly impacted the outcome measures in terms of the adjusted odds ratio (AOR). P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: About one third of these migrant workers had a poor quality of life (34.52%; 95%CI: 31.84-37.20), and had moderate-to-high levels of stress (67.96%; 95%CI: 65.33-70.59), and symptoms of depression (69.69%; 95%CI: 67.10-72.29). After controlling other covariate factors, the factors associated with poor QOL were a high level perceived of stress (AOR=3.64; 95%CI: 2.41-5.49; p<0.001); living with family and relatives (AOR=3.63; 95%CI: CI 2.42-5.45; p<0.001); and housing being provided by their employer (AOR=2.66; 95%CI: 1.74-4.08; p<0.001). Conclusion: Stress was strongly associated with QOL. The living environment was found to be the next most influential factor on QOL. Mental health programs aimed at helping migrant workers to cope with stress and to improve their living conditions will help improve QOL in the target group.

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“…Also, a study in Germany reported a 14% prevalence of MDS and a 29% prevalence of any depressive disorder associated with acculturation level among Turkish migrants [29]. Furthermore, according to Latin American migrants, a high prevalence of distress was shown in Germany (45%) [30] and in the United States (34%) [31]. O’Connor et al described stressors which might influence poor psychosocial well-being among Latin American migrants such as current jobs, levels of education, working conditions, time of residence in the host country, acculturation level, social and family support, among others [32].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Major Depressive Syndrome (MDS) and its Association with Time of Residence among Spanish Speaking Au-Pairs Living in Germany

Espinoza-Castro

Weinmann

López

et al. 2019

IJERPH

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The number of au-pairs in Germany is on the rise. In 2017, about 13,500 au-pairs were living in German families, almost half of them originating from non-European Union (EU) countries and many of them from Spanish speaking countries. Knowledge about mental health among au-pairs in Germany is limited. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of Major Depressive Syndrome (MDS) and its potential association with time of residence among Spanish speaking au-pairs living in Germany via an exploratory analysis. This study included a sample of 409 Spanish speaking au-pairs living in Germany. We classified the au-pairs into those who lived less than three weeks in Germany (newcomer au-pairs) and those who lived more than three weeks (experienced au-pairs). The participants were recruited by an online survey (Facebook and Instagram) from August 2018 to June 2019. Socio-demographic characteristics, time of residence in Germany and the level of education were assessed. MDS was assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire depression module (PHQ-9). Poisson regression models were calculated to evaluate the association between time of residence in Germany and prevalence of MDS. Most of the participants were female (91%). Almost half of them came from Colombia (48%) and were in the age range between 22–24 years (40%). Prevalence of MDS was 8% among newcomers and 19% among experienced au-pairs (p = 0.002). Differences remained statistically significant after adjustment for potential confounders (age, level of education and time of residence in Germany) (prevalence ratio 2.25; 95% confidence interval: 1.22–4.14). In conclusion, au-pairs may develop mental symptoms during their time abroad. Future prospective studies should aim at identifying potential risk factors and preventive measures.

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Working Below Skill Level as Risk Factor for Distress Among Latin American Migrants Living in Germany: A Cross-Sectional Study

Cited by 14 publications

References 25 publications

Migrant Workers and Psychological Health: A Systematic Review

Migrant Workers and Psychological Health: A Systematic Review

Mental health status and quality of life among Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand

Major Depressive Syndrome (MDS) and its Association with Time of Residence among Spanish Speaking Au-Pairs Living in Germany

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