Immigrant stress

Abstract The literature concerning psychiatric illness among immigrants is reviewed. Most studies of severe psychiatric illness have been concerned with hospital admission rates and not measured social stressors. Limited knowledge of the different paths to admission means that such rates cannot provide a reliable comparison between rates of illness between immigrant and native populations. Predisposition to develop psychotic illness appears to be as important as the stress of migration. Community studies of social stressors among immigrants have generally not made accurate measures of psychiatric illness. They indicate that distress is related to certain aspects of the migration process, eg loss of role and drop in the social class; but other factors, such as marital or housing difficulties, are similar to those found in non‐migrant populations. A few life‐event studies have been able to differentiate stressors occurring at the time of migration and those which occur some years later. The latter indicated continuing difficulties in adapting to the new country but it is not clear how often this leads to definite Psychiatric illness.