When Partnerships End: Mental Health Consequences of Union Dissolution by Own and Partner’s Migration Background in the Netherlands

Carla Grindel , University of Oxford
Alessandro Ferrara, WZB Berlin Social Science Center
Yasemin Soysal, WZB
Stefanie Theuring, Charité Berlin
Andrea Tilstra, University of Oxford
Zaza Zindel, Universität Bielefeld
Christiaan Monden, University of Oxford

Union dissolutions are profoundly stressful life course events. While differences in the mental health consequences of union dissolutions by gender or socio-economic status are well-established in the literature, much less is known about variations by migration background. Using rich administrative data from the Netherlands, this study advances the literature by providing novel evidence on how anticipatory, short-, and medium-term health outcomes of union dissolution vary between first-generation-migrants and native-borns. Building on the stress process framework and on life course migrant health literature, we argue that migrants, especially females, might be particularly at risk of experiencing negative mental health consequences due to compounding stressors, such as financial strain. We further distinguish between union type, that is, whether migrants are in a partnership (marriage or long-term cohabitation) with another migrant or a native-born partner. Native-born partners might provide support in accessing social networks, healthcare, and financial support, and thus, the dissolution of these unions might have more negative mental health consequences. We use two measures of mental health care: declared healthcare costs and reimbursed medications. Using fixed-effects linear probability models, we can capture within-individual changes in health from three years before to five years after the point of separation. As migrants make up a significant amount of the population in Europe, and numbers are expected to increase, gaining insights into their mental health needs is crucial in order to align the health care system accordingly and to uphold human rights.

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 Presented in Session 75. Health and Mortality in Migrant Populations