Migrant well-being and undocumented status in South Korea: a cross-sectional assessment of physical, behavioral, psychological, and social well-being

Abstract

Abstract Background A high burden of physical, mental, and occupational health problems among migrant workers has been well-documented, but data on undocumented migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic are limited and their well-being has rarely been compared to that of the general population. Methods Using data from a cross-sectional survey of migrant workers in South Korea in early 2021, we describe their physical, behavioral, psychological, and social well-being in a wide range of outcomes. The well-being outcomes were first compared between documented and undocumented migrant workers in generalized linear regressions adjusting for potential confounders. Then, the well-being of the migrant workers was compared against that of the general population using data from the Korean Happiness Survey, which is nationally representative of the South Korean general population and conducted in late 2020. The parametric g-formula was performed to adjust for potential confounders. Results We found inequalities of considerable magnitude in psychological, behavioral, and social well-being after adjusting for potential confounders. The undocumented migrants were less likely to be happy or engage in community participation, and much more likely to have anxiety or depression, smoke cigarettes, or drink alcohol than the documented migrants. When compared to the general South Korean population, an evident social gradient was observed for psychological well-being; the undocumented migrants experienced the worst outcome, followed by the documented migrants, and then the general population. Also, the undocumented migrants were more likely to smoke cigarettes than the general population and as likely to drink alcohol as the general population. Conclusion A stark social gradient in psychological and behavioral well-being exists among documented, undocumented migrant workers and the general population in South Korea, whose quarantine is considered relatively successful. Sociostructural factors are likely to be in action to make undocumented migrants psychologically unwell and isolated from the community and society at large. Policy-level interventions as well as interpersonal efforts are in urgent need to improve undocumented migrant workers’ behavioral, psychological, and social well-being.