The Symptomatology of Mental Disease Among Refugees in Norway

In an earlier investigation the author (1959) raised the question regarding whether a higher incidence of psychiatric disorders could be observed among refugees who remained in, or came to Norway after World War II. Through a personal investigation of all the (sixty) refugees who were admitted to Norwegian mental hospitals and psychiatric departments during the period 1 January, 1946–31 December, 1955, it has been possible to answer this question in the affirmative and without any shadow of doubt. The author could also show that the incidence of psychoses among refugees in Norway is, for all diagnoses, five times higher than could be expected when compared with a matched Norwegian population. For schizophrenia alone the incidence is less than five times higher, while for reactive psychoses it lies far above this number.