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Dr. Ahmed Munib, PhD candidate,

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The Effects of Immigration and Resettlement ... Concealment of mental illness due to stigma ... Concealment. Resettlement. Post-settlement adjustment stress ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Dr. Ahmed Munib, PhD candidate,


1

The Effects of Immigration and Resettlement on
the Mental Health of South-Asian Communities in
Melbourne.
  • Dr. Ahmed Munib, PhD candidate,
  • Supervisors
  • Assoc. Prof. Harry Minas Assoc. Prof. Steven
    Klimidis,
  • Centre for International Mental Health
    Department of Psychiatry,
  • The University of Melbourne.

2
South-Asian countries of migrant origin
  • India 29,414
  • Pakistan 2,794
  • Bangladesh 1,317
  • Sri-Lanka 25,969
  • Australian Bureau of Statistics census data,
    2001
  • statistical local areas for metropolitan
    Melbourne

3
Factors in the home country predisposing to
migration from the South Asia region
  • Economic uncertainty
  • Low quality of life
  • Lack of higher educational opportunities
  • Limited career advancement
  • Political and social instability
  • Family members/relatives settled overseas

4
Pre-migration factors affecting settlement outcome
  • Age at the time of migration
  • Gender of the immigrant
  • Socio-cultural and educational background
  • Occupational status
  • Psychological preparation prior to migration
  • Prior experience of migration
  • History of physical and/or psychiatric
    illness
  • Individual personality traits
  • Family composition
  • Future expectations
  • Perceptions and attitudes towards the host
    community

5
Post-migration scenario (Observations in
Bangladesh)
  • Inadequate social support mechanisms
  • Social isolation and cultural alienation
  • Predisposition of anxiety/depression
  • Concealment of mental illness due to stigma
  • Impaired coping and adjustment
  • Aggravation of psychiatric problems
  • Unsuccessful resettlement
  • Return to home country
  • Inadequate/delayed therapeutic intervention
  • Rehabilitation failure
  • Social disability

6
Post-migration factors affecting settlement
outcome
  • Reception by the host community
  • Host societies attitudes towards immigrants
  • Perceived discrimination
  • Language competency
  • Recognition of professional skills and
    qualifications
  • Economic stability (job opportunities)
  • Presence of co-ethnic communities
  • Social networking
  • Adjustment with individualistic social
    expectations

7
Outlines of the Study design
  • Target group
  • Adult Indian and Bangladeshi Australian
    permanent residents/citizens located in
    metropolitan Melbourne.
  • Qualitative approach
  • One-on-one in-depth interviews
  • Number of participants-38
  • Selection through community contacts
  • Analysis and extraction of themes utilising NVivo
    software

8
Summary of Research objectives
  • Exploration of immigration and resettlement
    experiences among South-Asian migrants, and any
    association with psychiatric illness, primarily
    anxiety and depression.
  • Investigation of psychosocial protective
    mechanisms and common coping strategies.
  • Examination of factors relevant to both
    successful and unsuccessful resettlement, and the
    effect on psychological well-being.

9
Cultural profile of study group
  • Indian community
  • Native languages-Hindi as well as Tamil, Gujrati,
    Bengali.
  • Predominantly Hindu, some Muslims and Christians
  • Strong religious and South-Asian cultural beliefs
  • Hierarchal social caste system with conservative
    family values
  • Extended social networks with collectivist ideals
  • Bangladeshi community
  • Ethnic Bengali, predominantly Muslim.
  • Strong Islamic identity and Bengali/South-Asian
    cultural beliefs
  • Conservative family values
  • Extended social networks with collectivist ideals
  • Both communities in Melbourne comprise mostly
    skilled migrants

10
Deductions from case studies(Resettlement
difficulties)
  • Regret and self-reproach regarding decision to
    migrate
  • Feelings of antagonism towards Australian society
  • Anxiety, apprehension and uncertainty about the
    future
  • Feelings of social isolation and cultural
    alienation
  • Reinforcement of preconceived stereotypes about
    perceived discrimination
  • Dysfunction in inter-personal relationships
  • Adverse impact on psychological well-being

11
Factors affecting emotional well-being in migrants
  • Inadequate psychological preparation prior to
    immigration
  • Cultural and linguistic barriers
  • Concealment of mental illness due to stigma
  • Reluctance to utilize psychiatric services in the
    host country
  • Preference to seeking psychiatric services in the
    native country

12
Themes relating to psychological distress
  • Blame
  • Resentment
  • Regret
  • Remorse
  • Loneliness
  • Helplessness
  • Low self-esteem
  • Dysphoria
  • Anger
  • Agitation
  • Antipathy
  • Concealment

13
Resettlement
14
Post-settlement adjustment stress
15
Racial discrimination (impact on the individual)
  • certainly racism in general in Australia has
    affected me a lotjust from growing upthe
    inevitable racism which migrants facebesides
    superficial racism at school or in the
    workplacesubtle discrimination is much harder to
    pinpoint because you never know if people are
    reacting to you for a certain waybut certainly
    in terms of overt racism that has always been in
    the form of racial abuse or racial slurs or
    things like that. I would say thatthat the
    discrimination I have faced has been based on
    literally the colour of my skin above anything
    else.
  • - Bangladeshi male

16
Racial discrimination (impact on the family)
  • because of our colour they treat us
    differently...which makes me really upset and
    sometimes my son...hes in year 11 now...last
    year he used to say that I wish that I had white
    skin...I dont want...like to be a brown boy in
    the class.
  • -Bangladeshi female

17
Role of the family
  • I dont think South-Asian families are designed
    for external interventionI justI think an Anglo
    familybecause of their culture and their
    acceptance ofpsychiatric or therapeutic
    intervention, I think they would be much more
    comfortable in seeking outside help, but I think
    there is a great deal of pride associated with
    the integrity of the family unitin South-Asian
    communitiesand to seek some kind of outside
    assistance, I think would be a huge admission of
    failureon part of both the family units. So I
    think ultimately differences would have to be
    straightened out by the family.
  • - Bangladeshi male

18
Non-recognition of professional skills
  • ...we think we have everything and walk over to
    Australia and we cant find a job or
    somethinggeneral kind of people, some are
    frustrated because they couldnt find the
    placement equal to what they were doing...some
    people find it very frustrating because they
    believe that they got the highest degree...and
    they come here and nobody will accept it.
  • - Indian male

19
Psychological distress
  • ...I feel Im like out of my own culture, I
    dont belong here, I dont belong with my
    friends...I feel really depressed...Im having
    some medication for depression because it gets
    really bad and as I told before, now I feel my
    family very much. I feel this here the life is so
    mechanical, you have to follow the same routine
    day after dayand I feel like Im just working
    like a machine.
  • -Bangladeshi female

20
Cultural incongruity
  • ...Australians way of life is entirely
    different from our way, especially from the
    subcontinent and their sense of humour is
    different and how they speak is different, how
    they behave, how they react to the...suppose if I
    say one thing, a same thing to Indian and
    Australian, Indian may laugh at that but
    Australian dont understand that. He may think in
    a different way.
  • - Indian male

21
Attitudes towards host society
  • The best thing about Australian society,
    Australian people isthey feel youyou know, they
    make you better. They feel that, they make you
    feel you knowvery friendly, even a stranger they
    will talk to you, how are you mate...going
    mate. So you feel comfortable talking with them,
    get along with them. So thats the best thing
    about Australia you know. They are very friendly
    even though you know by heart they may not be
    very friendly but for day to day conversation,
    for the day to day things, for moving around they
    are friendly.
  • - Indian male

22
Successful strategies for coping
  • Social interaction and networking with co-ethnic
    communities
  • Co-ethnic social support networks
  • (sharing and discussion of problems)
  • Spiritual pursuits (eg, meditation, prayer)
  • Community volunteer activities (eg, charity work)
  • Acculturation interaction with local Australian
    communities
  • Help-seeking behaviour family, friends,
    chaplain, counsellor, GP, clinical psychologist,
    psychiatrist.

23
Long-term goals of the study and suggestions
  • Promote awareness about mental health concerns
    within the South-Asian community in Australia.
  • Increase awareness within the professional mental
    health community about South-Asian mental health
    issues.
  • Emphasizing that help-seeking is culturally
    acceptable and appropriate.
  • Dispelling the preconceived association of mental
    illness with stigma.
  • Social networking is an important buffer for
    migrants.
  • Resettlement in a new country is psychologically
    challenging, but does not necessarily predispose
    to mental illness.

24
  • Thank You
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