Immigrants’ voyages to a new land have been among the most exciting and noble of human endeavors. It is the amazing courage to flee oppression, to leave behind everything that is familiar, and to chance the hostility of a completely alien culture in order to find freedom, opportunity, and a better life. Immigrants are moving to a new country for the best of motives: the desire to improve their lives; the urge to leave countries whose governments they could not abide; and the willingness to work for another country where individuals can live in freedom and dignity. Many and many immigrants and refugees, including Albert Einstein, Ernst Boris Chain, Selman Abraham Waksman, Enrico Fermi, Sigmund Freud, Eric Fromm, Bertold Brecht, Jean Gabin, Charles de Gaulle, Thomas Mann, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, François-Marie Arouet (Voltaire), and Victor Hugo have made a remarkable contribution to the welfare and happiness of mankind. Immigrants often face difficulty adjusting to their new home in a new country for many reasons, including coping with trauma experienced in their native country, overcoming cultural and language barriers, and encountering discrimination. This can lead to severe and long-lasting psychological and behavioral problems, including depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and a high risk for suicide. The effects of immigration on psychological and social well-being are especially profound for certain populations, including children, women, individuals with disabilities, and those with limited financial resources. Many immigrants are often forced to take low-qualified jobs, even though they have the training and education for professional jobs. They cannot sustain their former economic and social status, which can lead to psychological distress. Despite the critical need for mental health services, immigrants face significant obstacles to receiving quality mental health care including financial difficulties, the lack of culturally- and linguistically-appropriate services, and mistrust of mental health providers.The results of the most recent research studies related to immigration and mental health will be presented in the book, “Immigration and Mental Health: Stress, Psychiatric Disorders and Suicidal Behavior Among Immigrants and Refugees”. This book will be of interest to physicians, psychologists, mental health counselors, sociologists, politicians, social workers, public health administrators, medical, psychology and sociology students, and lay people. Publisher: Nova Science Publishers Editors: Leo Sher and Alexander Vilens Chapter abstracts:
Leo Sher Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York, USA Immigration and Mental Health: Stress, Psychiatric Disorders and Suicidal Behavior Among Immigrants and Refugees. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2010, 350 pages. The term “immigration” is usually used to denote international immigration. The United Nations considers a long term […]
Brian Greenfield(1), Londa Daniel(2) and Bonnie Harnden(2) 1. McGill University Faculty of Medicine and Montreal Children’s Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada 2. Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Immigration and Mental Health: Stress, Psychiatric Disorders and Suicidal Behavior Among Immigrants and Refugees. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2010, 350 pages. Introduction: The assessment of patients contemplating […]
Diana van Bergen(1) and Sawitri Saharso(2) 1. The Netherlands Institute for Social Research, The Hague; 2. VU University Amsterdam and University Twente,The Netherlands Immigration and Mental Health: Stress, Psychiatric Disorders and Suicidal Behavior Among Immigrants and Refugees. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2010, 350 pages. Ethnicity plays a major role in the rates and […]
Guilherme Borges(1,3), Liliana Mondragón(1) and Joshua Breslau(2) 1. National Institute of Psychiatry, México City, México 2. UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California, USA 3. Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, México City, México Immigration and Mental Health: Stress, Psychiatric Disorders and Suicidal Behavior Among Immigrants and Refugees. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2010, 350 pages. At […]
Andres J. Pumariega(1), Eugenio M. Rothe(2), Jeffrey Swanson(3), Charles E. Holzer(4), Arthur O. Linskey(5) and Ruben Quintero-Salinas(6) 1. Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA and The Reading Hospital, Reading, Pennsylvania, USA 2. Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA 3. Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA 4. University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA […]
Peter J. Aspinall University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, UK Immigration and Mental Health: Stress, Psychiatric Disorders and Suicidal Behavior Among Immigrants and Refugees. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2010, 350 pages. This study attempts to examine variations in suicide rates between immigrant populations and ethnic groups in Britain. Lack of recording of ethnic group […]
Dana Galler(1,2) and Leo Sher(1) 1. Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York, USA 2. Yeshiva University, Stern College for Women, New York, New York, USA Immigration and Mental Health: Stress, Psychiatric Disorders and Suicidal Behavior Among Immigrants and Refugees. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2010, 350 pages. Immigration […]
Michael G. Madianos University of Athens. Department of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences. School of Health Sciences. Athens, Greece Immigration and Mental Health: Stress, Psychiatric Disorders and Suicidal Behavior Among Immigrants and Refugees. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2010, 350 pages. Acculturation an anthropological term introduced by Redfield, Linton and Herskovitch “comprehends those phenomena […]
Odd Steffen Dalgard Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway Immigration and Mental Health: Stress, Psychiatric Disorders and Suicidal Behavior Among Immigrants and Refugees. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2010, 350 pages. Background: Studies have shown that immigration may be associated with good as well as poor mental health, depending on the social context, […]
Patricia Gonzalez(1) and Monica Rosales(2) 1 San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA 2 City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California, USA Immigration and Mental Health: Stress, Psychiatric Disorders and Suicidal Behavior Among Immigrants and Refugees. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2010, 350 pages. Depression is a major public health concern that […]
