Immigrants and Mental Disorders in the United States:New Evidence on the Healthy Migrant Hypothesis

Migrating from one country to another tends to bring with it a degree of stress as individuals face the task of adjusting to life in a new context and culture. (Berry et al., 1987) Although migration-related stress is to be expected, scholars have cautioned against the assumption that exposure to the stresses of migration and immigrant adaptation necessarily results in psychopathology. (Park and Kemp, 2006, Su árez‐Orozco and Carhill, 2008) Indeed, whereas research in Europe suggests that immigrants are at greater risk of mental illness than are non-migrant Europeans, (Mindlis and Boffetta, 2017, Bourque et al., 2011, Lindert et al., 2008, Lindert et al., 2009) studies conducted in the United States (U S) have shown that immigrants tend to be less likely to experience anxiety, depressive, and trauma-related disorders as compared to US-born individuals.

Source: Psychiatry Research - June 19, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Christopher P. Salas-Wright, Michael G. Vaughn, Trenette C. Goings, Daniel P. Miller, Seth J. Schwartz Source Type: research