Relationship of Migrant Status (Refugee or Immigrant) to Mental Health

Abstract

This study investigated and compared mental health levels among refugees and immigrants living in New Zealand. One hundred and twenty-nine Indochinese refugees, 57 Pacific Island immigrants and 63 British immigrants to New Zealand were surveyed. A questionnaire and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25) in English and in three Indochinese translations, were administered face-to-face. The hypothesis that migrant status (being a refugee or immigrant) affects mental health and that refugees experience more emotional distress than immigrants was only supported by the comparison with British immigrants. Both Indochinese refugees and Pacific Island immigrants experienced relatively low levels of mental health. However, the incidence of clinical depression and clinical total emotional distress tended to be higher among Indochinese refugees than in either immigrant group. In contrast clinical anxiety occurred most often among Pacific Islanders.

Migration and mental health: Evidence from a natural experiment

“…Similar mixed results are found among immigrants to New Zealand. Pernice and Brook (1994) find the mental health of a sample of Pacific Island immigrants in New Zealand to be as low as that of a sample of Southeast Asian refugees, and significantly lower than that of British immigrants. In contrast, Graves and Graves (1985) surveyed Samoans, Cook Islanders and native-born New Zealanders of European background, and found the Pacific Islanders to have significantly fewer psychosomatic symptoms of health problems than did the European New Zealanders.…”

Listening to refugees: How traditional mental health interventions may miss the mark

“…For example, Steel et al (2002) found that Vietnamese refugees in Australia who experienced more than three traumatic events had a heightened risk of mental illness even 10 years post-resettlement compared with people with no trauma exposure. Similarly, Pernice and Brook (1994) found high levels of anxiety and depression in their study of recently arrived refugees in New Zealand. Allan (2014) indicates that there are high levels of depression, anxiety, and guilt among refugee populations in Australia as well.…”

Migration And Mental Health : Evidence From A Natural Experiment

“…Pernice and Brook (1994) Islanders may be due to their experience of discrimination and unemployment, which were amongst the most significant correlates of mental disorders for the pooled sample (Pernice and Brook, 1996). Amongst both the Southeast Asian refugees and Pacific Island migrants, 30 percent of respondents reported experiencing discrimination in either their workplace or from health professionals.…”