Self-rated health and health complaints of Lithuanian emigrants

The impact of emigration on people health is perceived differently: most authors presume that emigration causes stress and it leads to a threat to person’s health, while others consider that perception of the emigration stress as possible to cope and control promotes positive health consequences. This discussion suggest hypothesis that Lithuanian emigrants and non-emigrants should differ in health rates. That’s why the object of this study is to analyse self-rated health and frequency of health complaints in Lithuanian emigrants’ (men and women) groups. The subjects are 309 Lithuanian emigrants and 295 Lithuanians currently living in the home country. The main variables of the study are: self-rated health, health complaints, depression, and psychosocial stress. The results showed that Lithuanian emigrants have higher self-rated health than non-emigrants. Emigrant men and especially women report less health complaints: emigrants have less complaint on hypertension, nervous strain, reasonless anxiety, and difficulties to concentrate than non-emigrants; also emigrant women report less complaint on headache, stomach ache, heart pain, reduced appetite problems, fewer depression symptoms, and rare sleep problems. No differences on psychosocial stress were established between emigrants and non-emigrants groups. It was found that women, but not men, report less health complaints, better self-rated health, and weaker psychosocial stress when they live longer in emigration. No differences on self-rated health, depression and psychosocial stress between emigrant men and women groups were establishedPsichologijos katedraSocialinių mokslų fakultetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta