Postpartum Depression Risk among Immigrant Women and Their Descendants in Finland

Citlali Trigos-Raczkowski, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR)
Silvia Loi, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR)
Kelsey Wright, University of Helsinki, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Pekka Martikainen, University of Helsinki
Mikko Myrskyla, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

Much is known about postpartum depression (PPD) risk factors, but less is understood about the health differential between immigrant and non-immigrant women, and how this varies across immigrant generations and age at migration. This study examines PPD risk among women in Finland up to one year after birth by immigration background (non-immigrant, 1st-, 2nd-, and 2.5-generation immigrant women). Using comprehensive register data and three logistic regression models, we investigate if the healthy migrant effect and negative health assimilation extend to PPD. We explore patterns of risk that may contribute to compounded disadvantage for children of immigrants through the lens of the diverging destinies theory, with particular attention to the understudied 2.5 generation. We consider factors such as previous history of depression, living with a partner, region of origin, if the language spoken at home is not Finnish, and other sociodemographic variables. By examining these intersecting factors, this study aims to contribute a nuanced understanding of PPD risk across immigrant generations, the complex experience and challenge of building a family in a foreign country, and potential protective factors against PPD.

Keywords: Migrant Populations and Refugees, International Migration, Inequality, Disadvantage and Discrimination, Health and Morbidity

See extended abstract.