Impact of Socioeconomic status on mental health among Asian American immigrants

• In Event: Asia and Asian American Section Roundtables Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 7: Asia and Asian America Section Roundtable - Health and Medicine

Abstract

Socioeconomic status (SES) plays a significant role in shaping both physical and mental health, with higher SES generally associated with better health outcomes and lower SES linked to worse health conditions. Prior research suggests that socioeconomic factors such as immigration status, income, and education are strongly associated with mental health. Immigrants and racial/ethnic minority populations often report poorer mental health outcomes compared to the native population. In this study, we examine the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and mental health among Asian Americans in the United States. We further assess whether this association differs by nativity status, comparing foreign-born and U.S.-born Asian Americans. Our findings indicate that higher family income is significantly associated with lower levels of depression among Asian Americans. In contrast, higher educational attainment is associated with higher levels of depression. However, these associations do not significantly differ between foreign-born and U.S.-born Asian Americans. The relationship between family income and depression does not vary by nativity status. Overall, the results suggest that socioeconomic status shapes mental health outcomes among Asian Americans, but these associations do not appear to differ by nativity status and duration of residence in the United States.

Author

• Israt Jahan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign