Immigrants Enjoy Better Mental Health

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Common sense may suggest immigrating to a new country like the United States would increase stress levels and put people at risk for psychiatric disorders.

But that’s not the case, report researchers in this month’s Archives of General Psychiatry. In fact, their study finds immigrants to this country are actually in much better mental health than people born in America.

Researchers analyzed data from a national survey on alcohol use disorder and related conditions conducted from 2001-2002. Compared to Mexican immigrants and non-Hispanic white immigrants to the United States, Mexican Americans and whites born in this country had significantly higher rates of psychiatric disorders, anxiety and mood disorders, and alcohol and drug abuse problems. The findings held true even after researchers took into account factors like income levels, education, age, sex, and martial status.

Overall, however, U.S.-born Mexican Americans were less likely to suffer from psychiatric disorders than U.S.-born whites, leading the researchers to believe cultural differences may, in part, be protecting people with a Hispanic heritage from developing these problems.

They call for more investigation to shed light on specific factors that could be mitigating mental health problems in various populations. “Further research among foreign-born and U.S.-born Mexican Americans is sorely needed to understand processes underlying what appear to be the protective effects of culture and the deleterious effects of acculturation on mental health,” the authors write.

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SOURCE: Archives of General Psychiatry, 2004;61:1226-1233