Decomposing Income-Related Inequalities in Self-Reported Depression and Self-Rated Health Among Married Immigrants in South Korea

Abstract

Health inequalities among immigrant minorities have been under-researched in South Korea. This study, therefore, measured the extent of income-related inequalities in self-reported depression and self-rated health (SRH) among married immigrants in South Korea and decomposed them into sociodemographic determinants using data from the 2015 National Survey of Multicultural Families (n = 15,231). The mean age of this sample was 37.8 years (SD = 10.8) and the mean duration of residence was 10.1 years (SD = 7.4). Eighty-five percent were female, and of these, 86.5% were from low/middle-income countries. Of these married immigrants, 34.6% reported experiences of depressive symptoms in the past year, and 9.5% reported their current health to be poor or very poor (weighted). The results also indicated substantial pro-rich health inequalities with the Erreygers concentration index of −0.1298 for self-reported depression and that of −0.1231 for poor SRH. Socioeconomic positions, reflected in income, subjective social status, and employment status, alongside satisfaction with a spouse, appeared to have much greater contributions to the overall inequality than demographics and type of migration. These findings suggest that social welfare policies and programmes can play important roles in reducing health inequalities that are ‘avoidable and unnecessary’ among married immigrants in South Korea.