Abstract
Object: To test the hypothesis that white immigrants to a predominantly black country have a different pattern of psychopathology from the native population.Method: The psychopathology (DSM IIIR) of white immigrants to Jamaica seen in the author's private practice between 1979 and 1990 was compared with the psychopathology of a control sample of native Jamaicans matched with the immigrant sample for age, sex, and social class.Results: There was no statistical difference in the major diagnoses mood disoder (35%), anxiety states (27%), and schizophrenia (20%) between the immigrant and control groups. White immigrants to this black country did not develop schizophrenia at higher rates than the native born. White mentally ill immigrants to Jamaica move into social class positions at a significantly higher level (p<0.005) than those of their parents with whom they grew up in their home country. This was significantly different (p<0.005) from their Jamaican controls. Two case studies are presented to illustrate these findings.Conclusions: The political/economic situation which exists in black postcolonial countries like Jamaica provides a protective social environment for white immigrants, which buffers them from the etiological conditions that engender schizophrenia in immigrants to other countries with predominantly white populations.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cochrane R. and Bal S. S. (1987) Migration and schizophrenia: an examination of five hypotheses.Soc. Psychiatry Psychiatr. Epidemiol. 22, 181–191.
Eagles J. M. (1991) The relationship between schizophrenia and immigration. Are there alteratives to the psychosocial hypotheses?Br. J. Psychiatry 159, 783–789.
Harrison G., Owens D., Holton A., et al. (1988) A prospective study of severe mental disorder in Afro-Caribbean patients.Psychological Med. 18, 643–657.
Hickling F. W. (1991) Double jeopardy: Psychopathology of black mentally ill returned migrants to Jamaica.Int. J. Soc. Psychiatry 37, 80–89.
Hickling F. W. and Rodgers-Johnson P. (1995) The incidence of first contact schizophrenia in Jamaica.Br. J. Psychiatry 166, 522–526.
Littlewood R. and Lipsedge M. (1989)Aliens and Alienists: Ethnic Minorities and Psychiatry. Routledge, London.
Murphy H. B. M. (1977) Migration, culture and mental health.Psychological Med. 7, 677–684.
Odegaard O. (1932) Emigration and insanity: a study of mental disease among Norwegian-born population in Minnesota.Acta Psychiatrica et Neurologica Scandinavia (suppl. 4).
Sartorius N., Jablensky, A., Korten A., et al. (1986) Early manifestations and first-contact incidence of schizophrenia in different cultures.Psychological Med. 16, 909–928.
Selten J. P. and Sijben N. (1994) First admission rates for schizophrenia in immigrants to the Netherlands.Soc. Psychiatry Psychiatr-Epidemiol. 29, 71–77.
Wessely S., Castle D., Der G., and Murray R. (1991) Schizophrenia and Afro-Caribbeans. A case-control study.Br. J. Psychiatry 159, 795–801.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hickling, F.W. Psychopathology of white mentally ill immigrants to Jamaica. Molecular and Chemical Neuropathology 28, 261–268 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02815231
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02815231