Immigrant Heterogeneity and Mental Health Among Asian and Latino Immigrants

Background & Purpose: Despite increasing theoretical speculations of the multifaceted experiences of immigrants, researchers have not extensively investigated the multiple dimensions that capture diverse immigration experiences, nor how to characterize immigrant heterogeneity. This is a critical research gap that needs to be addressed by identifying and exploring heterogeneity among immigrants. Identifying such diverse immigrant groups and exploring the possible group associations with mental health outcomes may shed light on factors associated with diverse immigrant experiences and how they influence immigrants’ well-being. This study explores the nature of immigrant heterogeneity based on immigration-related psychosocial factors, by identifying Asian and Latino immigrant subgroups and testing whether these classified immigrant subgroups can be used to examine the association between immigration and mental health outcomes.

Methods: This study used data from the National Latino and Asian American Study in the United States (2002-2003). The sample in this study only included immigrant respondents: Asian (n=1466) and Latino (n=1494). When running Latent Class Analysis (LCA), we used immigration-related psychosocial factors, which were informed by prior theoretical and empirical findings that reflect various challenges for Asian and Latino immigrants, including limited English proficiency (LEP), acculturative stress (AS) such as difficulties interacting with others due to LEP, unfair treatment due to LEP/accent, and job difficulties because of Asian/Latino descent. We then conducted a series of LCA in order to come up with immigrant classification categories that are both theoretically meaningful and reflective of reality of immigrant heterogeneity. Finally, we applied a series of multivariate logistic regression models to examine the associations between immigrant subgroups and both subjective and objective mental health outcomes (i.e., poor self-rated mental health and 12-month depression). 

Results: This study found four Latent Classes each for Asians and Latinos, which show similar patterns in the identified four subgroups: (1) Low LEP/Low AS, (2) Low LEP/Mid AS, (3) High LEP/High AS, and (4) High LEP/Low AS. In addition, results of multivariate logistic regression model suggest that class membership was significantly associated with mental health outcomes. Asian immigrants who belong to the High LEP/High AS group were at increased risk for 12-month depression after controlling for age, gender, discrimination, and contextual factors (e.g., neighborhood poverty and ethnic density); whereas Latino immigrants who belong to the High LED/Low AS group were at risk of experiencing poor self-rated mental health.

Implications: This study provides a classification scheme for the heterogeneity of immigrants. Findings highlight multiple dimensions, heterogeneity among immigrants, and how they might influence mental health. Empirical evidence from this study can be used as a tool to assess possible risks of immigrants for poor mental health outcomes based on their response patterns. For example, Asian immigrants who report having LEP and perceiving high AS may get the most benefit from depression prevention services. Knowledge of what accounts for distinctive immigrant subgroups and how they are associated with certain mental health outcomes can lead to providing immigrants with effective mental health preventive interventions as well as screening measures and tools.