[Mental health, acculturation and religiosity in Jewish migrants from the former Soviet Union in Austria]

Religiosity, perceived anti-Semitism, xenophobia and mental health: Experiences of Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union in Austria and Germany

Research about the relation between migration and mental health as well as factors influencing the mental health of migrants has been growing because challenges of migration can constitute a significant mental health burden. However, its divergent findings seem to reflect group-specific differences, e.g., regarding country of origin and receiving country. Almost no empirical studies about individual migrant groups in different receiving countries have been undertaken so far. The present population-based study explores symptoms of depression, anxiety, and somatization as well as quality of life in an Austrian and a German sample of ex-Soviet Jewish migrants. We mainly investigate the relationship of religiosity and perceived xenophobic and anti-Semitic discrimination to the psychological condition of the migrants. Standardized self-report scales, specifically the Beck-Depression-Inventory-II (BDI), State-Trait-Anxiety-Inventory (STAI), Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and WHO Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF), were used to measure mental health. Ex-Soviet Jewish migrants in Austria showed significantly more symptoms of depression than those in Germany. Regression analyses support a protective effect of religiosity on mental health in the sample in Germany and an adverse effect of perceived discrimination in the sample in Austria. The present study reveals a less favorable situation for ex-Soviet Jewish migrants in Austria, in terms of income, residence status, and xenophobic attitudes in the local population, compared to the group in Germany. Furthermore, our data suggest that the receiving country matters for the mental health of this migrant group. However, further research is needed to support these conclusions.

Mental Health Determinants Among a Psychiatric Outpatient Sample of Vietnamese Migrants in Germany

Background: Mental health risk-factors for Asian migrants have been studied almost exclusively in the US, Canada, and Australia but not in European countries. Therefore, we aimed to identify sociodemographic, clinical, and migration-surrounding factors associated with experienced mental distress among Vietnamese migrants in Germany. Method: 305 Vietnamese migrants utilizing Germany's first Vietnamese psychiatric outpatient clinic filled out at admission the Brief-Symptom-Inventory 18 (BSI-18) as well as a questionnaire on 22 potential mental health determinants. Using a multiple linear regression model, we identified those sociodemographic, clinical, and migration-surrounding factors that were significantly related to the Global Severity Index (GSI) of the BSI-18. Results: The factors unemployment (B = -6.32, p = 0.014), financial problems (B = -10.71, p < 0.001), no or only little religious involvement (B = -3.23, p = 0.002), no psychiatric precontact (B = -7.35, p = 0.004), previous migration experiences (B = 8.76, p = 0.002), and perceived discrimination (B = 6.58, p = 0.011) were found to significantly increase the level of mental distress according to the BSI-GSI. Conclusion: Based on these results, we were able to construct a mental health risk-profile for Vietnamese migrants in Germany, which aims to detect candidates for psychiatric problems earlier and supply them with customized prevention and therapy options.

Associations Between Acculturation, Depressive Symptoms, and Life Satisfaction Among Migrants of Turkish Origin in Germany: Gender- and Generation-Related Aspects

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present study was to investigate the degree of depressive symptoms and life satisfaction (LS) as well as the association between acculturation and depressive symptoms among a large sample of persons with Turkish migration background in Germany, taking into account gender- and migration-related differences.

METHODS

This study was part of a pretest for a large national epidemiological cohort study in Germany. Acculturation was measured using the Frankfurt Acculturation Scale (FRACC). Based on the median split of the two subscales, four acculturative styles according to Berry (integration, assimilation, separation and marginalization) were determined. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the depression module (PHQ-9) from the Patient Health Questionnaire. LS was assessed with a single item on a scale from 1 = bad to 5 = excellent. Differences in levels of depressive symptoms and LS in relation to gender and generation of migration were tested with analysis of covariance, controlling for age. Gender-stratified multiple linear regression analyses were also conducted for depressive symptoms as criterion variable.

RESULTS

328 Turkish migrants participated (61.3% women). The cut-off-value of ≥10 for the PHQ-9 was achieved by 33.2% of the women and 26.4% of the men (p=0.209, φ=0.071). In female migrants, the age-adjusted mean score for depressive symptoms was 7.81 (SD=6.42), in males 6.70 (SD=6.41) (p=0.137, η²=0.007). After controlling for unemployment status, women showed a trend for being more frequently depressed than men (p=0.055, φ=0.117) and also demonstrated a trend for higher levels of depressive symptoms (p=0.072, η²=0.012). No significant gender-specific difference was found concerning age-adjusted mean score for LS (p=0.547, η²=0.001), also when controlled for unemployment status (p=0.322, η²=0.004). In both sexes, the second generation demonstrated a significantly higher age-adjusted mean score for LS of small/medium effect size than the first generation. In women, separation as acculturation style (linear regression coefficient (B=4.42, 95% CI=1.68, 7.17, p=0.002; reference: integration), having no partnership (B=2.56, 95% CI=0.26, 4.86, p=0.03) and lower education (B=-2.28, 95% CI=-4.54, -0.02, p=0.048) were associated with higher severity of depressive symptoms; in men, separation as acculturation style (B=4.01, 95% CI=0.70, 7.31, p=0.018; reference: integration) and employment status (B=-3.32, 95% CI=-5.71, -0.92, p=0.007) were related to depression levels.

CONCLUSIONS

Separation as acculturation style is associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms (for both genders). Gender-sensitive health promotion programs should target separated migrants to improve their integration into the German society.

Creative Arts Therapies as Temporary Home for Refugees: Insights from Literature and Practice

One of the frequently overlooked psychosocial problems of refugees is the phenomenon of homesickness. Being forced into exile and unable to return home may cause natural feelings of nostalgia but may also result in emotional, cognitive, behavioral and physical adversities. According to the literature, the creative arts therapies with their attention to preverbal language—music, imagery, dance, role play, and movement—are able to reach individuals through the senses and promote successive integration, which can lead to transformation and therapeutic change. These forms of therapy can be a temporary home for refugees in the acculturation process, by serving as a safe and enactive transitional space. More specifically, working with dance and movement can foster the experience of the body as a home and thus provide a safe starting place, from which to regulate arousal, increase interoception, and symbolize trauma- and resource-related processes. Hearing, playing, and singing music from the home culture may assist individuals in maintaining their cultural and personal individuality. Creating drawings, paintings, or sculpturing around the topics of houses and environments from the past can help refugees to retain their identity through art, creating safe spaces for the future helps to look ahead, retain resources, and regain control. This article provides a literature review related to home and homesickness, and the role the arts therapies can play for refugees in transition. It further reports selected interview data on adverse life events and burdens in the host country from a German study. We propose that the creative arts therapies are not only a container that offers a temporary home, but can also serve as a bridge that gently guides refugees to a stepwise integration in the host country. Several clinical and research examples are presented suggesting that the support and affirmation through the creative arts can strengthen individuals in their process of moving from an old to a new environment.