Mental health of sub-saharan african migrants: The gendered role of migration paths and transnational ties

Abstract

In Europe, migrants are at higher risk of common mental disorders or psychological distress than are natives. Little is known regarding the social determinants of migrant mental health, particularly the roles played by migration conditions and transnational practices, which may manifest themselves in different ways for men and for women. The goal of this paper was to understand the gendered roles of migration paths and transnational ties in mental health among sub-Saharan African migrants residing in the Paris, France, metropolitan area. This study used data from the Parcours study conducted in 2012–2013, which employed a life-event approach to collect data from a representative sample of migrants who visited healthcare facilities (n = 2468). We measured anxiety and depressive symptoms at the time of data collection with the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4). Reasons for migration, the living conditions in the host country and transnational ties after migration were taken into account by sex and after adjustment. Our study demonstrates that among sub-Saharan African migrants, mental health is related to the migratory path and the migrant’s situation in the host country but differently for women and men. Among women, anxiety and depressive symptoms were strongly related to having left one’s home country because of threats to one’s life. Among men, residing illegally in the host country was related to impaired mental health. For both women and men, cross-border separation from a child less than 18 years old was not independently associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms. In addition, social and emotional support from relatives and friends—both from the society of origin and of destination—were associated with lower anxiety and depressive symptoms. Migrant mental health may be impaired in the current context of anti-migrant policies and an anti-immigrant social environment in Europe.

Factors associated with depression among homeless mothers. Results of the ENFAMS survey

“…Some prior studies reported similar findings but in others mothers who were not fluent in their host country tongue were especially vulnerable (Gupta et al, 2013;Janssen-Kallenberg et al, 2017;Ünlü Ince et al, 2014;Bernstein et al, 2011). Additional research, validating measures of psychological distress and depression among recent immigrantsparticularly from Sub-Saharan Africawould be valuable (Pannetier et al, 2017). Other studies have found that some measures of depression yield high levels of false positive results in Sub-Saharan HIV-positive women (Tsai, 2015).…”

The Mental Health Implications of Living in the Shadows: The Lived Experience and Coping Strategies of Undocumented African Migrant Women

“…Other studies have identified that undocumented immigrants were found to be at higher risk of depressive symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and reported that discrimination and undocumented status affected their mental well-being resulting in weight gain/loss, insomnia, anxiety, depression, substance abuse and fear [22][23][24][25]. Additionally, anxiety and depressive symptoms have been found to be directly related to immigration status [26].…”

Migration experiences, life conditions, and drug use practices of Russian-speaking drug users who live in Paris: a mixed-method analysis from the ANRS-Coquelicot study

“…Compared to other drug users (French-speaking or not) from similar services, they display more precariousness, which is clear from their difficult housing situation and by more feeble prospects of integrating socio-economically [12,13,19,20]. Migration experiences and life conditions in the host country are often associated with a high level of mental distress (stress, anxiety, depression), as was observed among migrants from sub-Saharan Africa in the ANRS-Parcours study 15 [21].…”