Physical and psychological health of first and second generation Turkish immigrants in Germany

Abstract Recent studies in Germany suggest that first generation Turkish immigrants have lower mortality rates compared to native Germans. Conversely, studies examining morbidity, though not national in scope, have demonstrated that first generation Turks may have poorer health than native Germans. Additionally, little is known about the health of the emerging second generation Turkish population in Germany. To evaluate the discrepancy between mortality and morbidity trends and contribute to a better understanding of second generation Turkish immigrant health, this paper uses a nationally‐representative dataset, including the 2005 German Gender and Generations Study (GGS) ( n = 10,017) and the 2006 GGS Turkish supplement ( n = 4,045), to assess three health outcomes: chronic illness, self‐assessed health, and feelings of emptiness. The paper investigates whether sex, age, socioeconomic status, emotional support, or duration of residence in Germany predict these dimensions of health. Results establish clear health status differences between Turks and native Germans. Surprisingly, both first and second generation Turks tend to have lower chronic illness rates and rate their health as better than Germans at younger ages, but the advantage diminishes among higher age strata for the first generation. Feelings of emptiness results generally indicate an increased susceptibility to psychological problems for both generations of Turks. Controlling for socioeconomic status and age reduces these health differences modestly, pointing to their likely role as mediators. The relatively higher risks for all three health outcomes among Turkish females of both generations compared to their German counterparts suggest that female Turkish immigrants and their female offspring may be particularly vulnerable. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.