Psychological distress among migrant groups in Australia: results from the 2015 National Health Survey.

Publisher: Springer International Country of Publication: Germany NLM ID: 8804358 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1433-9285 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 09337954 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: [Berlin] : Springer International, [c1988-

Stress, Psychological/*epidemiology ; Stress, Psychological/*ethnology ; Transients and Migrants/*psychology; Adult ; Africa, Northern/ethnology ; Australia/epidemiology ; Female ; Greece/ethnology ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; India/ethnology ; Italy/ethnology ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Middle East/ethnology ; Prevalence ; Psychological Distress ; Socioeconomic Factors ; United Kingdom/ethnology

Purpose: To understand the relationship between migration and psychological distress, we (a) calculated the prevalence of psychological distress in specific migrant groups, and (b) examined the association between specific birth groups and psychological distress, while controlling for confounding variables to understand vulnerabilities across migrant groups.
Methods: The prevalence of psychological distress, disaggregated by birthplace, was calculated using data from the Australian 2015 National Health Survey, which measures psychological distress via the Kessler Screening Scale for Psychological Distress (K10). Multivariable logistic regression models, with adjustments for complex survey design, were fitted to examine the association between country of birth and psychological distress once extensive controls for demographic, and socioeconomics factors were included.
Results: 14,466 individuals ≥ 18 years completed the K10. Migrants from Italy (20.7%), Greece (20.4%), Southern and Eastern European (18.2%), and North African and Middle Eastern (21.9%) countries had higher prevalence estimates of distress compared to Australian born (12.4%) or those born in the United Kingdom (UK) (9.5%)-the largest migrant group in Australia. After adjusting for demographics, SES factors, duration in Australia, a birthplace in Italy (OR = 2.79 95% CI 1.4, 5.7), Greece (OR = 2.46 95% CI 1.1, 5.5), India (OR = 2.28 95% CI 1.3, 3.9), Southern and Eastern Europe (excluding Greece and Italy) (OR = 2.43 95% CI 1.5, 3.9), North Africa and the Middle East (OR = 3.39 95% CI 1.9, 6.2) was associated with increased odds of distress relative to those born in the UK.
Conclusions: Illuminating variability in prevalence of psychological distress across migrant communities, highlights vulnerabilities in particular migrant groups, which have not previously been described. Identifying such communities can aid mental health policy-makers and service providers provide targeted culturally appropriate care.

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2010 Oct;45(10):941-51. (PMID: 19763363)
BMC Public Health. 2015 Aug 20;15:805. (PMID: 26289668)
Aust N Z J Public Health. 2012 Apr;36(2):120-5. (PMID: 22487345)
Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2017 Aug;52(8):913-928. (PMID: 28555381)
BMC Psychiatry. 2013 Dec 02;13:329. (PMID: 24294940)
Int J Ment Health Syst. 2013 Oct 07;7(1):23. (PMID: 24093216)
Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2004 Apr;39(4):259-64. (PMID: 15085326)
Lancet Psychiatry. 2017 Mar;4(3):218-229. (PMID: 28161455)
Med J Aust. 2014 Jul 7;201(1):44-7. (PMID: 24999898)
Lancet. 2017 Jun 17;389(10087):2358-2359. (PMID: 28635599)
Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2013 Jul;21(7):596-606. (PMID: 23567398)
Soc Sci Med. 2005 Apr;60(7):1625-35. (PMID: 15652693)
JAMA. 2009 Aug 5;302(5):537-49. (PMID: 19654388)
Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2011 Nov;45(11):957-67. (PMID: 22044173)
Stat Med. 1997 May 15;16(9):965-80. (PMID: 9160492)
BMJ Open. 2017 Nov 17;7(11):e015603. (PMID: 29151045)
BMJ Open. 2018 May 24;8(5):e020829. (PMID: 29794096)
Lancet Public Health. 2018 Jun;3(6):e259. (PMID: 29804719)
Psychiatry Res. 2014 Dec 30;220(3):1028-36. (PMID: 25223256)
J Psychiatr Res. 2016 Dec;83:103-111. (PMID: 27585424)
Lancet Psychiatry. 2017 Oct;4(10):775-818. (PMID: 28946952)
J Health Soc Behav. 2009 Jun;50(2):213-27. (PMID: 19537461)
Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2011 Oct;45(10):880-9. (PMID: 21875309)
Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2015 Nov;61(7):660-7. (PMID: 25770201)
Res Soc Work Pract. 2011 May;21(3):278-288. (PMID: 21666885)
J Gen Intern Med. 2015 Jan;30(1):75-82. (PMID: 25338731)
Psychol Med. 2002 Aug;32(6):959-76. (PMID: 12214795)

Keywords: Migrants; Psychological distress; Socio-economic factors

Date Created: 20191030 Date Completed: 20200924 Latest Revision: 20200924

20221213

10.1007/s00127-019-01782-y

31659375