Self-reported health and health risky behaviour of Roma adolescents in Slovakia : a comparison with the non-Roma

Roma people form one of the largest and the oldest minorities in Europe. Roma adults’ health has been found to be worse than the health of non-Roma but systematic research on Roma adolescents’ health in particular is almost entirely lacking. The aim of this study was to assess the health status and health-endangering behaviours of Roma adolescents living in poor Roma settlements in the Eastern part of Slovakia and to compare them with their non-Roma counterparts, and to assess the impact of socioeconomic status, social desirability and perceived discrimination on the results. We used a cross-sectional study design, and compared a sample of Roma adolescents (N=330; boys 48.5%; mean age=14.50, SD=1.03) with non-Roma adolescents (N=722; boys 53.2%; mean age=14.86, SD=0.63). Compared to non-Roma adolescents Roma adolescents reported poorer self-rated health, more accidents and injuries and more frequent use of healthcare, though fewer health complaints, higher social support from parents, higher life satisfaction and higher hopelessness rates, less delinquent behaviour and less physically aggressive behaviour, but more hostility. Our study supported the mediating role of socioeconomic status (parental education) in the pathway from ethnicity to health outcomes as proposed by previous research. Discrimination, hopelessness and social support seem to mediate this pathway. The social desirability in health assessment seems to be a confounder that should not be neglected in the assessment of psychosocial outcomes and antisocial behaviour of Roma adolescents. Our findings imply that health-related interventions should be concentrated more on groups with increased health risk originating from low socioeconomic status.