Immigration is increasing worldwide, and this increase includes diaspora immigrants (coming to a destination country connected to their ancestral heritage); the phenomenon of diaspora immigration is found in more than 50 countries such as Finland, Greece, and Israel (Aalto, Heponiemi, & Keskimaki, 2014; Mahonen, Leinonen, & Jasinskaja-Lahti, 2013; Motti-Stefanidi, Pavlopoulos, Obradovic, & Masten, 2008). Diaspora immigrants move to the destination country to live in a country with a culture and way of life with which they identify (Mahonen, Leinonen, & Jasinskaja-Lahti, 2013). Their motivation is different from refugees and asylum-seekers who are fleeing political and economic strife and different from immigrants who want to increase their economic situation (Albert, Ferring, & Lang, 2016; Green, 2016; Imai, Stacey, & Warman, 2014; Khvorostianov & Remennick, 2015). Yet this group of immigrants, with a distinct motivation for immigration, often are grouped with other immigrants. For all immigrants, health status indicates social integration (Mantwill & Schulz, 2017) as well as thriving as an individual, and is a commonly used outcome to indicate immigrants' health and social welfare (Lee, O'Neill, Ihara, & Chae, 2013). This study builds on this literature by focusing specifically on diaspora (adult) immigrants and examining the connection between locations on the work-retirement continuum (i.e., working adult immigrants who retain the same occupation after immigration, working immigrant adults who change occupations after immigration and immigrant adults who retire) and health, exploring confounding effects and interactions with acculturation and demographic characteristics. While the link between immigrants' health status and employment is well-established, little is known about the impact of the work-retirement continuum on the health and acculturation in immigrant (Szabo & Ward, 2015; Zaban, 2015). This study addresses the gap in the literature.
Methods:
Using a sample of three immigrant groups on the work-retirement continuum (i.e., working-same occupation, working-changed occupation, retired) (n=377), this cross-sectional study examines whether the link between health and acculturation varies for immigrants based on their location on the work-retirement continuum (after adjusting for age and other confounding variables). Respondent completed an online 20-minute questionnaire containing mostly valid and reliable measures including questions on: demographic characteristics; reasons for immigration; family support; self-reported health status; acculturation variables; job prior to immigration; and current job.
Results:
Bivariate analyses revealed differences by work-retirement continuum group in two acculturation variables, language proficiency (p<0.0001) and dual country self-identification (p<0.05). Acculturation variables showed that more than half of adults reported dual country self-identification; and for language proficiency and realized expectations after immigration, both measured by scales ranging from 0 to 12 with the highest score indicating the best language proficiency and the most realized expectations after immigration, means were 7.42 (SD=4.87) and 7.0 (SD=2.37), respectively. Significant differences were found in dual country self-identification (p>0.05), with proportionally more adults in the same occupation after immigration group reporting dual country self-identification. Proportionally more adults in the changed occupations after immigration group reported higher language proficiency (p<0.0001). Multiple variable analyses revealed an interaction effect between work-retirement continuum group status by realized expectations on health status, such that good health was: related to higher levels of realized expectations for the retired group; related to lower levels of realized expectations for the changed occupations after immigration group; and unrelated to realized expectations for the same occupation after immigration group.
The interaction effect found in this study showed that immigrants who changed occupations after immigration were more likely to report good health if they had lower levels of realized expectations. The necessity to change occupations may explain why their immigration did not meet their expectations. However, changing occupations may have compelled these immigrants to gain better language proficiency. Thus, it may be that acculturation for them was realized in a different way than the one they anticipated. For retired immigrants, good health was related to having higher levels of realized expectations. In this study, retirees' average age was over 70 years old, and studies on older immigrant adults note that those who received financial, social and information support from their families, compared to those who did not, were more likely to report good health. Realized expectations after immigration for retired adults may encompass being with family and receiving their support. In contrast, for the group that retained the same occupation after immigration, health status was unrelated to having realized expectations. Health status was related to the acculturation variable of dual country self-identification, and adult self-identity often includes occupation.
Conclusion:
Realized expectations, an important aspect of acculturation, depends on the immigrant's location on the work-retirement continuum. Administrators, and health and social welfare professionals can promote health in working or retired immigrants by providing clear and realistic information on their expectations.