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Impact of social discrimination, job concerns, and social support on filipino immigrant worker mental health and substance use
Author(s) -
Tsai Jenny HsinChun,
Thompson Elaine Adams
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.22223
Subject(s) - mental health , workforce , social determinants of health , medicine , ethnic group , immigration , social support , social epidemiology , public health , social work , occupational safety and health , gerontology , environmental health , psychiatry , social psychology , psychology , nursing , economic growth , sociology , political science , pathology , anthropology , law , economics
Background The personal and social impact of mental health problems and substance use on workforce participation is costly. Social determinants of health contribute significantly to health disparities beyond effects associated with work. Guided by a theory‐driven model, we identified pathways by which social determinants shape immigrant worker health. Method Associations between known social determinants of mental health problems and substance use (social discrimination, job and employment concerns, and social support) were examined using structural equation modeling in a sample of 1,397 immigrants from the Filipino American Community Epidemiological Study. Results Social discrimination and low social support were associated with mental health problems and substance use ( P < 0.05). Job and employment concerns were associated with mental health problems, but not substance use. Conclusions The integration of social factors into occupational health research is needed, along with prevention efforts designed for foreign‐born ethnic minority workers. Am. J. Ind. Med. 56:1082–1094, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.