Acculturative stress among young immigrants in Norway

The study examined the relationship between migration and the incidence of emotional disorders among 568 young Third World immigrants in Norway. Participants were 10-17 years of age. Using a questionnaire, acculturative stress (i.e., change in health status as a result of acculturation) was found to exist among the children, although having to migrate or being born in Norway was not related to mental health status. A stressful acculturative experience (i.e., difficulties in initiating friendship with Norwegian peers) alone could account for only 1% of the self reported emotional disorders. Incidence of depressive tendencies, poor self image, and psychological and somatic symptoms were found to be related to close and supportive parents, marginality, integration, gender and the number of friends the child had. These accounted for between 12 and 15% of the explained variance. The paper theoretically discusses how these factors may be related to acculturative stress, and recommends them as starting points for a primary intervention program to reduce emotional disorders among these children.