Differences in Depressive Symptoms between Immigrant and Native Individuals Across 20 European Countries: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract: Aim: Mental health condition of immigrants living in Europe is a major public health issue.Although a wide range of research on depression in immigrants was conducted previously, there is still a need for ongoing attention and thorough evaluation. The aim of this study was to examine the differences in depressive symptoms between immigrant and native individuals and to assess the influence of perceived discrimination, and socioeconomic and sociodemographic factors on the association between immigrant status and depressive symptoms. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted by using the European Social Survey (ESS) round 7 data which was carried out during the period of 2014-2015. The study included 23,594 participants (men=11,077 and women= 12,517) between the age of 25-64 years, from 20 European countries. Simple linear regression analysis was performed to investigate the differences in depressive symptoms between immigrant and native men and women. Further,multivariate linear regression analysis was done to assess the explanatory role of perceived discrimination, sociodemographic, and socioeconomic factors on the probable association between immigrant background and depressive symptoms. Result: Immigrant men were experiencing significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms than native men (B= 0.31, p= 0.005). Likewise, immigrant women were also suffering from more depressive symptoms than native women, although it was not significant (B= 0.16, p = 0.16). Perceived discrimination and financial difficulties were found to explain the association between immigrant background and depressive symptoms in both immigrant men and women. Conclusion: The study shows that immigrant men and women experience a higher propensity for depressive symptoms than their native counterparts. However, after controlling for perceived discrimination and financial difficulties, the differences in depressive symptoms between immigrant and native men and women decrease and even disappear for immigrant women and turn statistically non-significant. These results should be taken into account when considering preventive strategies to reduce depressive symptoms among immigrants.