Skip Navigation


American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access originally published online on August 11, 2009
American Journal of Epidemiology 2009 170(6):793-801; doi:10.1093/aje/kwp192
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
170/6/793    most recent
kwp192v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Nicklett, E. J.
Right arrow Articles by Burgard, S. A.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Nicklett, E. J.
Right arrow Articles by Burgard, S. A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

American Journal of Epidemiology © The Author 2009. Published by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Downward Social Mobility and Major Depressive Episodes Among Latino and Asian-American Immigrants to the United States

Emily J. Nicklett and Sarah A. Burgard

Correspondence to Emily Joy Nicklett, Department of Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 109 South Observatory Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029 (e-mail: enicklet{at}umich.edu).

Received for publication February 16, 2009. Accepted for publication June 9, 2009.

The authors analyzed the association between downward social mobility in subjective social status among 3,056 immigrants to the United States and the odds of a major depressive episode. Using data from the National Latino and Asian American Study (2002–2003), the authors examined downward mobility by comparing immigrants’ subjective social status in their country of origin with their subjective social status in the United States. The dependent variable was the occurrence of a past-year episode of major depression defined according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, criteria. Logistic regression models were used to control for a variety of sociodemographic and immigration-related characteristics. Analyses suggested that a loss of at least 3 steps in subjective social status is associated with increased risk of a depressive episode (odds ratio = 3.0, 95% confidence interval: 1.3, 6.6). Other factors independently associated with greater odds of depression included Latino ethnicity, female sex, having resided for a longer time in the United States, and being a US citizen. The findings suggest that immigrants who experience downward social mobility are at elevated risk of major depression. Policies or interventions focused only on immigrants of low social status may miss another group at risk: those who experience downward mobility from a higher social status.

Asian Americans; depression; emigration and immigration; Hispanic Americans; mental disorders; mental health; social class; social mobility

Abbreviations: NLAAS, National Latino and Asian American Study; SSS, subjective social status


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.