Mental Health of Chinese Immigrants in Australia

Abstract

The Chinese are among the earliest immigrants to Australia, with substantial numbers coming from the middle of the nineteenth century, fully half a century before Federation of the states to form the Commonwealth of Australia. The White Australia Policy, established immediately after Federation in 1901 specifically to prevent migration from China, was not dismantled until 1972, when Australia was among the first Western nations to recognise the People’s Republic of China. Since that time, large-scale migration from China has recommenced, and the Chinese are now the fastest growing immigrant community in Australia. Substantial differences between the culture that Chinese immigrants bring with them and the dominant Australian culture contribute to risks for development of mental disorder, as a result of the challenges associated with settlement in a new country and culture. While there have been no adequate epidemiological studies of mental disorders in Australia’s Chinese communities, it is probably the case that the overall prevalence of mental disorders is not substantially different to that in the overall Australian population and in other immigrant communities. Despite this, Chinese immigrants with mental disorder substantially underutilise public mental health services, largely as a result of the lack of culturally appropriate, acceptable and effective mental health services. In recent years, the political and economic tensions between Western countries – primarily the United States – and China have become prominent also in Australia, with the possibility that these may be undermining Chinese immigrants’ sense of security and wellbeing.