Over the past decades migration has increased dramatically. Most of the scientific literature on immigrant mental health has focussed on stress, distress and mental illness. Less attention has been paid to positive aspects in particular mental well-being. The existing studies among immigrants who move for economic, educational or personal reasons have not been systematically reviewed and analysed to provide an overview of the factors which may affect their subjective well-being. Further, we do not know the extent to which the existing integrative theory of well-being, the Theory of Sustainable Happiness (Lyubomirsky, et al., 2005) derived from research on general population is substantiated by research conducted with immigrants. To address these gaps we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the determinants of well-being among international immigrants. Overall 11 studies met inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. The analyses revealed that social support and dispositional factors (e.g. optimism, self-esteem) are strongly related to well-being whilst circumstantial factors such as income or duration of migration have weak and nonsignificant relationship with it. The findings are consistent with the Theory of Sustainable Happiness (2005) which suggests that circumstantial factors account for much less variance of well-being than dispositional factors because people tend to adapt to their circumstances. The study highlights the critical role of social support and intrapersonal factors in promoting and sustaining well-being of immigrants.

Over the last three decades, researchers have investigated population density and health outcomes at differing scale. There has not been a systematic review conducted in order to synthesise this evidence. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) guidelines, we systematically reviewed quantitative evidence published since 1990 on population density and non-communicable disease (NCD) within Westernised countries. Fifty-four studies met the inclusion criteria and were evaluated utilising a quality assessment tool for ecological studies. High population density appears to be associated with higher mortality rates of a range of cancers, cardiovascular disease and COPD, and a higher incidence of a range of cancers, asthma and club foot. In contrast, diabetes incidence was found to be associated with low population density. High and low population density are therefore risk markers for a range of NCDs, indicating that there are unidentified factors and mechanisms underlying aetiology. On closer examination, our synthesis revealed important and complex relationships between population density, the built environment, the nature of greenspace and man-made exposures. In light of increasing rates of morbidity and mortality, future research is required to investigate these associations in order to establish causative agents for each NCD.

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Accessible SummaryChild sexual abuse (CSA) is highly prevalent. Survivors of childhood sexual abuse are likely to develop a range of mental health problems in adult life which vary widely in severity, duration, and form. While some survivors suffer a wide range of severe psychological problems others experience few, if any at all.There is no clear explanation for such differences in frequency and intensity of problems across survivors. The nature of abuse is considered to have a primary role in the development of mental health problems in adult life, although results of existing studies remain inconclusive.To our knowledge, this is the first study which investigates the relationship between a wide range of sexual abuse characteristics and the severity of psychopathological disorders in a large sample of adult CSA survivors who attended a specialist Psychotherapy Service for CSA survivors.Many experienced severe sexual assault(s) in their early years and presented with severe pathology which could suggest a strong causal link. However, no significant association between the sexual abuse characteristics and severity of psychopathology was detected. This may suggest that for severely disordered, treatment-seeking CSA survivors other factors might have contributed to the development of the post-abuse psychopathology. The present study adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting that CSA effects may be dependent on factors which may not necessarily be related to the nature of the sexual abuse such as poor family relationships or detrimental coping strategies. The current study will contribute to 3 clinicians' knowledge and understanding of the determinants of psychopathology among severely disordered, help-seeking CSA survivors. 4 AbstractThe relationship between history of childhood sexual abuse and psychopathology in adult life is well-established. However, understanding of the mechanisms by which abuse exerts its effects is limited. To our knowledge, this is the first study which investigates the relationship between a wide range of sexual abuse characteristics (i.e., age at onset, frequency of assaults and number and gender of perpetrators, their relationship to the victim) and the severity of psychopathological disorders in a large sample of adult CSA survivors who attended a specialist Psychotherapy Service for CSA survivors. Many CSA survivors experienced severe sexual assault(s) in their early years and presented with severe pathology which could suggest a strong causal link. However, none of the examined trauma characteristics significantly predicted severity of psychopathology. This may suggest that for severely disordered, treatment-seeking CSA survivors post-abuse psychopathology could be caused by other factors. The study adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting that CSA effects may be dependent on factors which are not necessarily related to the nature of sexual abuse. The study findings will help improve clinicians' insight into the determinants of psychopathology.5

Objectives: Existing qualitative studies focussed predominantly on exploring immigrants' stress, distress and coping aimed at reducing stress. Little attention has been paid to immigrants' psychological growth or positive life changes. In the present study the impact of post-migration experiences on well-being among economic immigrants has been explored.Design: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 17 immigrants.Transcripts were analysed by a deductive and inductive thematic analysis.Results: All immigrants reported positive life changes as a result of migration.Experiences related to migration helped immigrants rebuild their sense of self-worth and find 'mental peace' after living a demanding and burdensome life in Poland.Immigrants' accounts also suggested that their thinking and behaviour patterns may be shaped by their cultural values and socio-economic background. Conclusion:Overall, the study indicates that migration is not merely a stressful life event but can have a positive impact on many aspects of immigrants' lives and may provide opportunities for personal growth.