Migration, culture and mental health

Abstract

Synopsis The former belief that immigrants always suffer from an excess of mental disorder is no longer valid, and the old rivalry between social selection and social causation hypotheses has lost much of its relevance. The mental health of a migrant group is determined by factors relating to the society of origin, factors relating to the migration itself, and factors operating in the society of resettlement; and all three sets need to be considered if one seeks to reduce or merely to understand the level of mental disorder in any immigrant group. Illustrations from each set of factors are presented, with indications of whether they appear to have general relevance or be related to specific mental disorders.