Objectives: Immigrant admission classes represent different entry routes to Canada and potential divergent pathways for later-life well-being. This study examined later-life satisfaction, an important correlate of well-being, comparing levels between Canadian-born older adults with those of older immigrants and refugees by admission class and considering the role of residency time in Canada.
Methods: This study used data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (2009-2014) linked to landing records for those 55 years and older. Regression models explored the association between admission class and later-life satisfaction adjusting for covariates and stratified by residency time in Canada.
Results: After accounting for a range of demographic, socioeconomic, and health characteristics, economic class principal applicants and refugees had significantly lower life satisfaction than Canadian-born older adults. The negative association with life satisfaction among economic class principal applicants persisted even after accounting for residency time in Canada.
Conclusions: Both admission class and length of residency in Canada are associated with levels of later-life satisfaction. Future studies should look beyond aggregated measures of immigrant status when examining determinants of well-being in later-life.
Clinical implications: Vulnerable subgroups of immigrants and refugees are at risk of experiencing lower later-life satisfaction and adverse later-life outcomes.
Keywords: Canada; immigrant category; life satisfaction; linked data; migration; older adults.