Thapa Suraj Bahadur, Hauff Edvard
Dept. of International Health, Institute of General Practice and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, P. O. Box 1130, Blindern, 0317 Oslo, Norway.
Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2005 Jan;40(1):78-84. doi: 10.1007/s00127-005-0855-8.
Despite the high rate of migration from low- and middle-income countries to high-income countries, there is still a lack of comprehensive studies of gender-specific differences in psychological distress in a diverse group of immigrants. We compared psychological distress between male and female immigrants from low- and middle-income countries living in Oslo, and identified factors associated with distress for men and women, separately.
A cross-sectional survey with self-administered questionnaires was conducted among 1536 immigrants from low- and middle-income countries living in Oslo. The Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL-10) was used to measure psychological distress. Data on their sociodemographic characteristics, negative and traumatic life events, and social integration and possible discrimination in the Norwegian society were also collected.
One-fourth of the study population was found to be psychologically distressed, with almost equal levels among men and women. Lack of salaried job and recent negative life events were independently associated with psychological distress for both genders. Furthermore, experience of denial of job and past traumatic experiences were other associated negative factors among men, while visits made by Norwegians appeared as a protective factor against distress among men. Older age, Middle East background, living without a partner, and experiencing denial of housing were other associated negative factors among women.
Our findings show that, except for adverse living conditions, there are gender differences with regard to factors associated with psychological distress among immigrants living in Oslo. Such gender issues are relevant for assisting immigrants in the integration process as well as for future research in migration and health.
尽管从低收入和中等收入国家向高收入国家的移民率很高，但对于不同移民群体心理困扰中性别差异的综合研究仍然匮乏。我们比较了居住在奥斯陆的来自低收入和中等收入国家的男性和女性移民的心理困扰情况，并分别确定了与男性和女性困扰相关的因素。
对居住在奥斯陆的1536名来自低收入和中等收入国家的移民进行了一项采用自填问卷的横断面调查。使用霍普金斯症状清单（HSCL - 10）来测量心理困扰。还收集了他们的社会人口学特征、负面和创伤性生活事件，以及在挪威社会中的社会融合和可能遭受的歧视等数据。
研究人群中有四分之一被发现存在心理困扰，男性和女性的困扰水平几乎相等。缺乏带薪工作和近期的负面生活事件与两性的心理困扰均独立相关。此外，求职被拒的经历和过去的创伤经历是男性中其他相关的负面因素，而挪威人的探访似乎是男性困扰的一个保护因素。年龄较大、中东背景、无伴侣生活以及住房申请被拒是女性中其他相关的负面因素。
我们的研究结果表明，除了不利的生活条件外，居住在奥斯陆的移民中，与心理困扰相关的因素存在性别差异。这些性别问题对于协助移民融入过程以及未来关于移民与健康的研究都具有重要意义。
