Health and discrimination among refugees in Germany

Abstract

Health is not only a matter of material conditions but is highly dependent on perceptions and feelings. This paper analyses the relationship between some sociopsychological factors and health conditions among refugees in Germany. Particularly, we focused on the role of discrimination in explaining the health of refugees, while considering their interrelations with life satisfaction, resilience and loneliness. Since these are all latent constructs, we estimated a structural equation model to explore their relations. Analyses were based on the first two waves of the IAB-BAMF-SOEP survey of refugees. It stood out that both health and discrimination are not equally distributed among refugees with different ethnic origins. Eritreans enjoy better health and are more satisfied with their health conditions. Afghans are more worried than others by anti-foreign sentiment in Germany. As expected, SEM shows that among refugees, discrimination is negatively associated with life satisfaction and health while increasing the feeling of loneliness. Higher resilience lowers perceived discrimination and is positively associated with better health.