Measuring SES in immigration countries: ‘blind spot’ regarding specific resources and liabilities of migrants? Cross-sectional study

Abstract

Review of secondary data sources using information from web pages, publications and personal contacts. Cohort identification was based on relevant web pages (i. a. birthcohorts.net, chicosproject.eu). Birth cohorts were included if they were located in a European country. Publically available material of each birth cohort was screened for information on the inclusion of ethnic minority groups. To obtain more detailed information, birth cohorts were contacted individually between November 2012 and April 2013. Results Seventy-four European birth cohorts were identified, totaling more than 550,000 children in 21 different European countries. Of these, 55 (74%) birth cohorts collected information on ethnicity and 25 (34%) stated the percentage of ethnic minorities among study participants. Twelve studies (16%) could provide information stratified by different ethnic groups in their study and five studies (7%) used information on ethnicity for comparative analyses. In 51 (69%) of the birth cohorts participation of ethnic minorities was limited to persons who had adequate language skills of the country in which the study took place, which limited the ability of ethnic minorities to take part in the study. Conclusions The majority of birth cohorts assessed participants’ ethnic background; however, information on the proportion of ethnic groups and use of ethnicity for comparative analyses were scarce. Birth cohorts from countries with a high proportion of ethnic minorities often enrolled a comparatively low proportion of ethnic groups. More birth cohort studies are needed that explicitly include ethnic minority groups, actively enable participation of ethnic minority groups and conduct comparative analyses. Key messages In European birth cohorts, ethnicity is often measured, but seldom reported or used for stratified analyses. Birth cohorts should actively enable participation of ethnic minority groups and conduct comparative analyses.