Volume 34 - Article 8 | Pages 243–258  

Remittances and risk of major depressive episode and sadness among new legal immigrants to the United States

By Eliva Ambugo, Jenjira Yahirun

Abstract

Background: The impact of remittances on health problems like depression among immigrants is understudied. Yet immigrants may be particularly emotionally vulnerable to the strains and benefits of providing remittances.

Objective: This study examines the association between sending remittances and major depressive episode (MDE) and sadness among legal immigrants in the United States.

Methods: Cross-sectional data (N=8,236 adults) come from the New Immigrant Survey (2003-2004), a representative sample of new U.S. permanent residents.

Results: In logistic regression models, immigrants who remitted had a higher risk of MDE and sadness compared to those who did not, net of sociodemographic and health factors. For remitters (N=1,470), the amount of money was not significantly linked to MDE but was associated with a higher risk of sadness among refugees/asylees compared to employment migrants.

Conclusions: Among socioeconomically vulnerable migrants such as refugees/asylees, sending remittances may threaten mental health by creating financial hardship. Initiatives that encourage economic stability for migrants may protect against depression.

Author’s Affiliation

• Eliva Ambugo - Universitetet i Oslo, Norway EMAIL
• Jenjira Yahirun - University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, United States of America EMAIL

Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research

Interracial couples and intergenerational coresidence: Interracial couples who provide housing assistance to their aging parents
Volume 51 - Article 35

Children’s union status and contact with mothers: A cross-national study
Volume 30 - Article 51

Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research

The surge in living alone among young and middle-aged adults: A decomposition analysis of the rise in one-person households in Germany, 1991 to 2021
Volume 52 - Article 32    | Keywords: algebraic decomposition, East Germany, gender, housing, middle adulthood, one-person households, social structures, solo living, West Germany, young adulthood

Uncovering the underlying causes for the narrowing, stalling, and widening Black–White mortality gap from 2000 to 2022 in the United States
Volume 52 - Article 18    | Keywords: cause of death, decomposition, mortality trends, racial disparities, United States of America, years of life lost (YLL)

Demographic convergence in marriage timing: Intersecting gender and educational expansion
Volume 52 - Article 14    | Keywords: age at marriage, convergence, cross-country, education, gender, union formation

Job creation, job destruction, and fertility in Germany
Volume 52 - Article 13    | Keywords: fertility, gender, Germany, job creation, job destruction, labor market, spatial modelling, unemployment

Gender differences in routine housework among one-person households: A cross-national analysis
Volume 52 - Article 12    | Keywords: cross-national research, gender, housework, unipersonal households