Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume 21, Issue 3, 2019, Pages 497-507

Socioeconomic Status and the Physical and Mental Health of Arab and Chaldean Americans in Michigan (Article)

Samari G.* , McNall M. , Lee K.S. , Perlstadt H. , Nawyn S.
  • a Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, University of California San Francisco, Oakland, CA, United States
  • b Community Evaluation and Research Collaborative, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
  • c Community Evaluation and Research Collaborative, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
  • d Department of Sociology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
  • e Department of Sociology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States

Abstract

Research that explains health of Arab and Chaldean Americans relative to the health of non-Arab White Americans is limited but steadily increasing. This study considers whether socioeconomic status moderates the relationship between race/ethnicity and physical and mental health. Data come from a state representative sample of Arab and Chaldean Americans—the 2013 Michigan Behavioral Risk Factor Survey and the 2013 Michigan Arab/Chaldean Behavioral Risk Factor Survey (N = 12,837 adults with 536 Arab/Chaldean Americans). Structural equation models examine whether socioeconomic status, operationalized as educational attainment, moderates the relationship between Arab/Chaldean identity and health, and whether physical activity, access to healthcare, and depression mediate the relationship between educational attainment and health. Results indicate that while Arab/Chaldean Americans have poor health relative to non-Arab White Americans, these differences are largely explained by educational differences. Depression, access to healthcare, and physical activity mediate the relationship between socioeconomic status and health of Arab/Chaldean Americans. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Author Keywords

Arab Americans Mental health Physical health Chaldean Americans Structural equation models BRFSS

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85048046753&doi=10.1007%2fs10903-018-0768-8&partnerID=40&md5=f86427ebc4971aafb0a7e453fe2d024a
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-018-0768-8
ISSN: 15571912
Original Language: English