The Mental Health Toll of the Great Migration: A Comparison of Mental Health Outcomes among Descendants of African American Migrators

Introduction: Research is beginning to examine the health outcomes of migrators of the Great Migration, a movement of up to eight million African Americans from the South to the North and West during the 20th century. However, sparse evidence exists studying the health outcomes of the children of Great Migration movers. The aims for this study were to compare the lifetime prevalence of mental health disorders by migration status and to examine the role of discrimination in this relationship. Methods: We used a sample of 3,183 African American adults from the National Survey of American Life (2001-2003). Using birthplaces of participants and their mothers, we classified adults as (1) Southern stayers, (2) migrators to the South, (3) migrators to the North or (4) Northern stayers. The outcomes were lifetime prevalence of any mental health, mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders. We used weighted log-Poisson regression models and adjusted for demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, and experiences of everyday and major lifetime discrimination. Results: Migrators to the North and Northern stayers had higher risks of any lifetime mental health, mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders compared to Southern stayers in the adjusted models. Migrators to the North and Northern stayers were more likely to report perceived discrimination. Discrimination partially attenuated the relationship between migration status and mental health disorder outcomes. Conclusion: This study suggests the potential mental health adversities that migrating families to the North may have experienced.