The influence of acculturation on mental health and specialized mental healthcare for non-western migrants

Abstract

This study confirms that acculturation status is associated with symptom levels, quality of life and perceived need for care of migrants. Moreover, participation in Dutch society appears to be a favorable factor for treatment effect. It is of importance for professionals in clinical practice to be attentive to this.

Predicting attitudes towards seeking medical care among Nigerian immigrants in the UK

“…Furthermore, the use of other coping styles, such as instrumental support, emotional support, and active coping were associated, but not predictive of, increases in medical help-seeking. These results support some existing research on the interrelationships between the processes of acculturation and factors related to immigration and coping with its challenges, such as positive migration history, non-discriminatory policies/regulations within the host-country, length of stay, religion, employment, and health issues (Nap et al, 2015).…”

“…Understandably, both 'self-blame' (turning blame on self, criticising self) and 'behavioural disengagement' (giving up efforts to cope) are regarded as avoidance approaches, that can become barriers to healthcare utilization (Cooper, Katona, & Livingston, 2008). This new information on the negative impact of avoidance coping methods on health care utilization among Nigerian immigrants supports findings from existing studies among other immigrants of non-Western origin (Nap et al, 2015;Yoon, Langrehr, & Ong, 2011). It is possible that arriving from a socio-cultural background based on communalism, with great dependence on families and religious groups for support, into a culture based on individualism such as the UK, African immigrants can face frustration and resort to 'denial' when family support becomes unavailable, which can compound the feelings of loss regarding the country of origin (Mooren et al, 2001).…”

Symptom manifestation and treatment effectiveness, -obstacles and -facilitators in Turkish and Moroccan groups with depression in European countries: A systematic review

“…Turkish-German still showed worse mental health and work outcomes (Zollmann et al, 2016). Factors facilitating therapeutic success included a participatory acculturation strategy in the Netherlands (Nap et al, 2015) and younger age and longer duration of stay in Austria (Renner and Berry, 2011), which were factors predictive of greater symptom reduction during or after treatment for depression. Furthermore, female gender, having a recurrent, more severe depression, and being older predicted less dropout (Fassaert et al, 2010a).…”

“…Some authors have also hypothesized that symptoms have an adaptive function in the living context (e.g., secondary gain), so reduction of symptoms might not be feasible before changing the familial or social context (Siller et al, 2017). Important barriers to accessing (psychological) treatment included more need for and reliance on passive medical care (Nap et al, 2015), negative attitudes towards psychotherapy, such as less openness to, and lower expectation of recovery after psychotherapy (Baarnhielm and Ekblad Facilitators for therapeutic success might include offering a more intensive, tailored therapy to patients with severe disorders at baseline (Nap et al, 2015). Promoting societal participation also influences positively the treatment outcome (Nap et al, 2015).…”

“…Important barriers to accessing (psychological) treatment included more need for and reliance on passive medical care (Nap et al, 2015), negative attitudes towards psychotherapy, such as less openness to, and lower expectation of recovery after psychotherapy (Baarnhielm and Ekblad Facilitators for therapeutic success might include offering a more intensive, tailored therapy to patients with severe disorders at baseline (Nap et al, 2015). Promoting societal participation also influences positively the treatment outcome (Nap et al, 2015). Additionally, according to traditional roles, older group leaders might be preferred to lead therapy groups, especially for older Turkish women (Renner and Berry, 2011 In summary, practitioners need to assess and explore (with their patients) the patients' particular situation and needs aiming at identifying the treatment approach and therapeutic interventions that best match each individual patient.…”