Abstract
BackgroundAccording to the EU-MIDIS report on discrimination, Roma are the most discriminated against group in Europe. Research suggests that experiencing discrimination may itself be detrimental to health. The aim of this paper is to investigate whether discrimination, hopelessness and social support mediate differences in self-rated health (SRH) between Roma and non-Roma adolescents.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study among Roma from separated and segregated settlements in the eastern part of Slovakia (N = 330; mean age = 14.50; interview) and non-Roma adolescents (N = 722; mean age = 14.86; questionnaire); only non-missing data were used for analyses (n = 759). The effect of perceived discrimination, mother and father social support, and hopelessness on SRH was analysed as crude and adjusted for ethnicity, age, gender, parental education and social desirability. Mediating effects were separately assessed using the Sobel test and structural equation modelling.ResultsRoma adolescents reported poorer SRH and more discrimination, mother and father social support, hopelessness and social desirability. Roma ethnicity (Odds ratio/95 %-Confidence interval 3.27/2.40–4.47), discrimination (2.66/1.82–3.88), hopelessness (1.35/1.20–1.51) and mother (0.92/0.88–0.97) and father social support (0.96/0.93 – 0.997) were statistically significant predictors of poor SRH. Perceived discrimination, social support and hopelessness mediated the ethnicity-health association, with adjustment for social support increasing its strength and the other two variables decreasing it.ConclusionsPerceived discrimination, social support and hopelessness mediate a part of the association between Roma ethnicity and poor SRH, with discrimination and hopelessness being risk factors and social support a protective factor.
Highlights
According to the EU-MIDIS report on discrimination, Roma are the most discriminated against group in Europe
Logistic regression showed that Roma ethnicity was a significant predictor of poor self-rated health (SRH)
Significant crude associations with SRH were found for discrimination, hopelessness and mother’s and father’s social support
Summary
According to the EU-MIDIS report on discrimination, Roma are the most discriminated against group in Europe. According to the EU-MIDIS report on discrimination, Roma are the most discriminated group in Europe, and this may still be an underestimation, as under-reporting of discrimination is generally high among Roma [1]. Roma are a rather large minority in many Central European countries and generally report poorer health than the non-Roma population. Estimates on their numbers vary; e.g. for Slovakia, they vary from 105,738 (2.0 %) to 750,000 (13.8 %), with 380,000 (7.2 %) probably being the best estimate (2011 census) [7]. One explanation is that their poorer perceived health is due to their socioeconomic deprivation and discrimination [6, 8, 9]
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