Immigrant paradox in the United States
Immigrants face many challenges as a result of migration, stemming from the fact that the nations and communities they settle in are culturally unfamiliar.
[9] Although the benefits of living in such communities include increased social support, positive in-group relations, and the virtual elimination of cultural and language barriers in daily interaction, often such neighborhoods are targets of institutional violence, such as stop and frisk.
In direct relation to these obstacles, immigrants also face challenges in the workplace, including poor and dangerous working conditions,[13] unemployment, and the employment of highly skilled individuals in low-skill jobs.
This challenge is only compounded by the other obstacles immigrants are faced with, and has deleterious consequences for mental health,[15] particularly because many migrants and refugees are already susceptible to elevated levels of psychopathology, due to the trauma associated with interpersonal conflict, acculturative stress and/or political unrest in their countries of origin.
Despite the numerous challenges facing early generation immigrants, research on the mental and physical health, educational, and conduct-related outcomes of these populations has demonstrated a paradoxical pattern.
Research with Filipino Americans has demonstrated that first-generation immigrants had lower levels of depressive symptoms than subsequent, US-born generations.
[19] First-generation Mexican immigrants to the United States were found to have lower incidences of mood disorders and substance use than their bicultural or subsequent generation counterparts.
[20][21] Similarly, immigrant youth in general are less likely to engage in risky behaviours and substance use, including alcohol and marijuana consumption.
First-generation Mexican American adolescents, specifically, have more positive attitudes towards academics and skip school less than subsequent generations and non-Latino US-born Whites.
Other differences in educational outcomes include superior reading achievement for first- and second-generation immigrant children, in comparison to their third-generation counterparts.
[35] First-generation Latino, Asian, and African youth have greater overall educational attainment and are less likely to drop out of high school than subsequent generations of each community.
For example, among Asian Americans, limited English proficiency was consistently associated with worse physical and mental health outcomes.
In international research on the phenomenon, Europe's SHARE data demonstrated no evidence of a paradox, with immigrants having poorer health outcomes than native Europeans.
[53] A study in Canada found that recent and non-European immigrant women were more predisposed to developing postpartum depression than non-immigrant Canadians.
These include stronger social networks and highly adaptive cultural practices concerning religion, diet, substance use, and parenting style.
[55][56] Researchers also posit that first-generation immigrants are more likely to place high importance upon academic success due to fear of limited employment opportunities in the host society.
A strong sense of ethnic identity and pride in one's cultural heritage is generally understood to be protective from negative mental health outcomes.
[19] However, with increased length of stay in the host society, subsequent generations are likely to report decreasing levels of involvement in culturally important traditions and practices.
Proponents of this hypothesis argue that only the most psychologically and physically healthy individuals migrate from their country of origin, and therefore have superior outcomes to begin with.
[58] Research must also consider seasonal migrants, the differential racialization of ethnic groups, and the role of English proficiency on educational and health outcomes.
