Paths to Subjective Poverty Among Midlife and Older Russian-Speaking Migrants: A Data Mining Approach Using the General Unary Hypotheses Automaton

Abstract

In the Nordic countries, older migrants experience higher poverty rates compared with the majority population. Research on this issue highlights a gap in understanding the complex interplay of ageing, migration and poverty risks. Using the General Unary Hypotheses Automaton (GUHA) data mining approach, we identified various factor combinations that contribute to subjective poverty experiences. We analysed data from the 2019 Care, Health, and Ageing of the Russian-Speaking Minority (CHARM) study in Finland (N = 1082, 57% men), which covers migration-related, socio-demographic, health and behavioural domains. Our findings reveal 37 distinct paths to subjective poverty involving 13 factors, including health limitations, multi-morbidity, receipt of housing benefit, religious affiliation, poor self-rated health, immigration age of 36–55, discrimination and living alone. While health-related factors predominated, our results highlight the intersection of multiple disadvantages in shaping subjective poverty, providing new insights on the dynamics of migrant poverty.