Vega Alma, Hirschman Karen
NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health, 3615 Chestnut Street, Ralston - Penn Center, Rm 326, Philadelphia, PA 19104, , ,
NewCourtland Term Chair in Health Transitions Research, 3615 Chestnut Street, Ralston Penn-Center, Rm 334, Philadelphia, PA 19104, 215-573-3755,
Ageing Soc. 2019 Apr;39(4):722-748. doi: 10.1017/S0144686X17001155. Epub 2017 Oct 26.
Mexicans are the largest immigrant group in the United States and are ageing rapidly. Data support that many return to Mexico due to economic factors such as employment. Few studies have investigated if older immigrants return to Mexico for different reasons than younger immigrants. Using the Mexican Health and Aging Study (N=952), we examine whether Mexican immigrants in the United States who returned to Mexico at age 50 and older report different reasons for returning than those who returned at younger ages. Few immigrants (regardless of age) returned to Mexico for economic reasons. The most commonly reported reason for returning to Mexico for both groups was missing family. However, the odds of listing illness over missing family as their main reason for returning were higher for older immigrants than younger immigrants after controlling for duration in the United States and other sociodemographic factors (OR=0.27; 95% CI=0.11, 0.68). These results challenge existing theories of international migration which focus on employment considerations.
墨西哥人是美国最大的移民群体，且老龄化速度很快。数据表明，许多人因就业等经济因素返回墨西哥。很少有研究调查老年移民返回墨西哥的原因是否与年轻移民不同。利用墨西哥健康与老龄化研究（N = 952），我们研究了在美国50岁及以上返回墨西哥的墨西哥移民报告的返回原因是否与较年轻返回者不同。很少有移民（无论年龄大小）因经济原因返回墨西哥。两组返回墨西哥最常报告的原因都是思念家人。然而，在控制在美国的居住时长和其他社会人口因素后，老年移民将疾病列为返回的主要原因而非思念家人的几率高于年轻移民（OR = 0.27；95% CI = 0.11，0.68）。这些结果挑战了现有的侧重于就业考虑的国际移民理论。
