Discrimination-related health inequality and role of social capital among marriage migrant women in South Korea

Abstract

BackgroundThis study aimed to evaluate whether social capital could alleviate health inequality against racial discrimination and identify the critical nature of social capital that generates health inequality differences within the social context of South Korea.MethodsUsing the data of the 2009 National Survey of Multicultural Families, a nationally representative sample in which 40,430 foreign wives participated, the concentration index (CI) was used to measure the discrimination-related inequalities in self-rated health and was decomposed into contributing factors.ResultsThe results showed a significant concentration of poor self-rated health unfavorable to foreign wives who were highly discriminated (CI 0.023, standard error [SE] 0.001, p < .001). However, when the CIs were assessed among the subgroups of different social capital, no discrimination-related inequality in health was observed among the group of linking social capital (CI 0.008, SE 0.008, p .332). The total differential decomposition method showed two major factors that generate differences in health inequality between the groups of non-linking and linking social capital: protest against discrimination (35.8 %); experiences of discrimination (28.3 %).ConclusionsThe present results indicated that linking social capital can be a useful resource of health resilience factor that equalizes discrimination-related health inequality among marriage migrant women in South Korea. This study provides additional evidence that social capital needs to be placed in its political context.

Factors affecting the self-rated health of immigrant women married to native men and raising children in South Korea: a cross-sectional study

“…Discrimination has been conceptualized as judgment or treatment on the basis of prejudice against racial and ethnic membership [ 43 , 44 ]. The literature from various backgrounds and contexts have presented that there is a significant relationship among perceived discrimination, psychological distress, adjustment, and health outcomes [ 45 – 50 ]. This study confirmed that perceived discrimination had a negative association with the self-rated health of immigrant women.…”

Percepción de discriminación en inmigrantes comparados a nacidos en Chile y su relación con acceso a servicios y resultados de salud

“…La discriminación se define como el trato diferente hacia una persona o grupo con características en común 1 ; y es un factor estructural relevante en el desarrollo de desigualdades en salud, especialmente en grupos sociales minoritarios 2,3 . La percepción de discriminación negativa tiene efectos sobre el bienestar general y salud física y mental del individuo, lo que ha sido reportado para diversos tipos de discriminación [3][4][5][6] .…”

“…La percepción de discriminación negativa tiene efectos sobre el bienestar general y salud física y mental del individuo, lo que ha sido reportado para diversos tipos de discriminación [3][4][5][6] . Esta puede llevar a un acceso deficiente a atención médica de calidad 2,4,7 y obstaculizar el alcance de programas de salud pública 3 . Cuando las diferencias entre grupos sociales son sistemáticas, producen inequidades sociales en salud que deben ser atendidas con urgencia.…”

“…La discriminación puede dañar la salud mediante múltiples mecanismos 4,9,14 . En inmigrantes adicionalmente, estrés aculturativo 4,9,12 y sensación constante de "otredad" 2,15 pueden ser factores desencadenantes de malestar físico-psicológico.…”

“…Particularmente, pertenecer a organizaciones sociales o religiosas y redes de apoyo familiar, social y emocional se repiten frecuentemente como los factores moderadores en la discriminación y relación salud-discriminación 4,15 . Los apoyos sociales y emocionales han mostrado afectar positivamente al tratamiento de enfermedades a largo plazo 15 y proteger frente a amenazas a la salud físico-psicológica 2,15 , respectivamente. Las variables como edad, sexo, estado civil, educación, nivel socioeconómico, pobreza, raza y etnia se han asociado tanto a discriminación como a resultados de salud.…”