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Gender Differences in Stressors Related to Migration and Acculturation in Patients with Psychiatric Disorders and Turkish Migration Background

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Abstract

Migration, acculturation, and psychiatric disorders may cause stress and adaptation processes differently in men and women, but empirical research is scarce. In a retrospective study n = 62 Turkish migrants and n = 62 native German inpatients with depressive or anxiety disorders, matched for age, gender, and diagnoses, were compared using a 10-item instrument for the assessment of migration- and acculturation related stressors (MIGSTR10). Gender differences in the prevalence of stressors and in the total sum of stressors were calculated and compared between migrants and indigenous patients. Results showed a higher global stress level in migrants and in women than in men with migration background. Regarding single stressors, the perceived loss of status was significantly more prevalent and more pronounced in men than in women (P < 0.05) whereas guilt feelings were more severe in women with Turkish migration background compared to men (P < 0.05). Gender differences of perceived stress should be taken into account in migration and acculturation research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine, University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany

    Matthias Johannes Müller

  2. Vitos Clinical Centre for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Giessen-Marburg, Licher Strasse 106, 35394, Giessen, Germany

    Matthias Johannes Müller & Eckhardt Koch

  3. Institute of European Ethnology and Cultural Studies, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany

    Eckhardt Koch

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Correspondence to Matthias Johannes Müller.

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Müller, M.J., Koch, E. Gender Differences in Stressors Related to Migration and Acculturation in Patients with Psychiatric Disorders and Turkish Migration Background. J Immigrant Minority Health 19, 623–630 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-016-0408-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-016-0408-0

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