Laurent Servais

Psychiatric disorders and social characteristics among second-generation Moroccan migrants in Belgium: An age–and gender–controlled study conducted in a psychiatric emergency department

PURPOSE Clinically, one of the most consistent clinical findings among migrant patients is an increase in the rate of psychosis. The aim of the present study was to confirm this finding in Belgium by comparing second-generation Moroccan migrant patients with Belgian patients, matched for the variables of age and gender. SUBJECTS AND METHOD We conducted a cross-sectional survey on 272 patients admitted in a psychiatric emergency unit during the year 1998. We used univariate and multivariate analyses to compare the two subgroups. RESULTS Multivariate analyses showed that migrant patients lived more often with their parental family and that they presented a higher rate of admission for psychotic disorders and a lower rate of employment. DISCUSSION Our findings add to the growing body of results showing increased incidence of psychosis among immigrants to European countries, but several factors have to be taken into account, particularly with regard to selection biases and differences in help-seeking behaviour and in family perception of the mental illness. CONCLUSION Our results are compatible with the hypothesis that unemployment is a contributing factor in the risk for psychosis among migrant groups. Further studies would be needed to better explain some of our results, particularly the role played by the families of migrant patients.