Mortality and Health Inequalities among Children by Migration and Parental Socioeconomic Status: The Case of Second-generation Migrants

Abbasoğlu A.

17th European Sociological Association Conference (ESA 2026), Warszawa, Polonya, 25 - 28 Ağustos 2026, (Özet Bildiri)

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
  • Basıldığı Şehir: Warszawa
  • Basıldığı Ülke: Polonya
  • Hacettepe Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Evidence on higher early life mortality risks and health disadvantages among second-generation migrants in Europe is well documented, emphasizing the urgency of the issue. This study analyzes early life mortality, disability, and health of second-generation migrant children under age 15 in eight Generations and Gender Survey (GGS) countries in Europe where second-round data are available (in Northern Europe (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Norway), and in Western/Central Europe (Austria, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom)). The research questions of the study are: (1) How does early-life mortality, disability, and overall health of second-generation migrant children compare to that of non-migrant children? and (2) Are these differences between second-generation migrant children and their non-migrant counterparts robust to the controlling of measures of parental socioeconomic characteristics? By using up-to-date cross-country longitudinal and retrospective survey data, the geographical extent of the problem and its permanency in time is evaluated, where non-registered cases may also be accounted for. Under-5 mortality (age 0–4) and older child and adolescent mortality (age 5–14) are analyzed using Cox proportional hazard models. Child disability and poor health are examined using binary logistic regressions. Our findings indicate higher childhood mortality rates in the last five years than expected when mortality registers are considered. While migration status shows no significant association with under-5 mortality hazard, elevated 5–14 mortality risks are observed for non-EU28 second-generation migrant children in Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands, whereas risks decline for EU28 second-generation migrants in Finland. Disability prevalence is higher among non-EU28 second-generation migrant children than non-migrants, except in Finland and Estonia. Multivariate results show higher odds of disability among both migrant groups in Denmark and Austria, and among non-EU28 second-generation migrants in Norway and Germany. Analyses of poor health suggest generally low levels, except for elevated risks among non-EU28 second-generation migrant children in the UK.