Skip to main content
Log in

Summary

Samples of 867 Greek adolescents in Munich, 2,702 Greek adolescents in Greece and 2,780 Turkish adolescents in Turkey were assessed concerning mental health in a two-stage procedure. In the first stage the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) was used for screening. Significant age differences in the GHQ 28-item scale and most of its subscales were observed mainly for the samples in the homeland. Male adolescents had lower scores than female adolescents in the GHQ 28-item scale and its sub-scales while social class appeared to be of little influence. Significantly higher GHQ-28 scores were obtained for Greeks and Turks in their homelands as compared to Greeks in Munich. The GHQ-28 correlations with the Anorexia Nervosa Inventory for Self-Rating were fairly high. A principal component analysis with Varimax rotation showed fairly consistent results for this age group when compared with the results of Goldberg and Hillier (1979). With the exception of the GHQ factor social dysfunction Greek adolescents in their homeland had significantly higher scores in the total GHQ-28 and its sub-scales than Greeks in Germany. Thus, our data do not confirm the acculturation-stress hypothesis. The data would be consistent with the hypothesis of selective migration which states that Greek adolescents in Germany constitute a positive selection with respect to risk for mental illness.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Elton M, Patton G, Weyerer S, Diallina M, Fichter M (in press) A comparative investigation of the principal component-structure of the 28-Item Version of the general health questionnaire in adolescent schoolgirls in England and abroad. Acta Psychiatr Scand

  • Erikson E (1950) Childhood and society. Norton, New York, pp 426–442

    Google Scholar 

  • Fichter MM, Elton M, Sourdi L, Weyerer S, Koptagel-Ilal G (in press, a) Anorexia nervosa in Greek and Turkish adolescents. Eur Arch Psychiatr Neurol Sci

  • Fichter MM, Weyerer S, Meller I, Eiberger T, Witzke W, Rehm J, Dilling H, Hippius H (in press, b) Ergebnisse der Oberbayerischen Verlaufsuntersuchung. In: Schmidt MH (Ed) Psychiatrische Epidemiologie. VHC, Weinheim

  • Fichter MM, Keeser W (1980) Das Anorexia Nervosa Inventar zur Selbstbeurteilung (ANIS) Arch Psychiatr Nervenkrankh 228:67–89

    Google Scholar 

  • Florou L (1975) Transkulturelle Aspekte der klinisch-psychiatrischen Bilder fremdsprachiger Arbeitnehmer und deren Bedeutung fur die nervenärztliche Praxis. Confin Psychiatr 18:193–206

    Google Scholar 

  • Frießem DH (1975) Jugendliche aus “Gastarbeiter”-Familien. Prax Kinderpsychol Kinderpsychiatr 24:7–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg DP (1983) The use of screening questionnaires by family doctors. Paper presented at the VII. World Congress of Psychiatry, Vienna, 11–16/7/1983

  • Goldberg DP (1972) The detection of psychiatric illness by questionnaire. Oxford University Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg DP, Hillier VF (1979) A scaled version of the General Health Questionnaire. Psychol Medicine 9:139–145

    Google Scholar 

  • Häfner H (1980) Psychiatrische Morbidität von Gastarbeitern in Mannheim. Nervenarzt 51:672–683

    Google Scholar 

  • Häfner H (1981) Depressive Syndrome bei Gastarbeitern in Mannheim. Ergebnisse einer Inanspruchnahme-Untersuchung auf epidemiologischer Basis. Schweiz Arch Neurol Neurochir Psychiatr 128:53–73

    Google Scholar 

  • Häfner H, Moschel G, Özek M (1977) Psychische Störungen bei türkischen Gastarbeitern. Eine prospektiv-epidemiologische Studie zur Untersuchung der Reaktion auf Einwanderung und partielle Anpassung. Nervenarzt 48:268–275

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins R (1985) Sex differences in minor psychiatric morbidity. Psychol Medicine. Monograph Supplement 7. University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Klitzing Kv (1983) Risiken und Formen psychischer Störungen bei ausländischen Arbeiterkindern. Beltz Verlag Weinheim

  • Korte H, Schmidt A (1983) Migration and ihre Folgen: Vandenhoeck & Suprecht, Göttingen

    Google Scholar 

  • Kortman F (1987) Problems in communication in transcultural psychiatry. Acta Psychiatr Scand 75:563–570

    Google Scholar 

  • Madianos MG (1980) Die Akulturation and die Psychische Gesundheit der Emigranten in USA. Doctoral Dissertation, Athens

  • Moore H, Kleining G (1960) Das soziale Selbstbild der Gesellschaftsschichten in Deutschland. Kölner Z Soziol Sozialpsychol 12:86–119

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller R-H M (1975) “Gastarbeiter”-Fremdarbeitsmigration und gesundheitliche Probleme: Eine Ubersicht. Ther Umschau Rev 32:542–546

    Google Scholar 

  • Oppler M (1956) Culture, psychiatry and human values. C. Thomas, Springfield

    Google Scholar 

  • Parkes KE (1982) Field dependence and the factor structure of the general health questionnaire in normal subjects. Br J Psychiat 140:392–400

    Google Scholar 

  • Pflanz M, Hasenknopf O, Costas P (1967) Blutdruck und funktionelle Beschwerden bei Gastarbeitern — ein transkultureller Vergleich. Arbeitsmed Sozialmed Arbeitshyg 5:181–185

    Google Scholar 

  • Poustka F (1984a) Psychiatrische Störungen bei Kindern ausländischer Arbeitnehmer. Eine epidemiologische Untersuchung. Enke Verlag, Stuttgart

    Google Scholar 

  • Poustka F (1984b) Familiäre Situation von Kindern ausländischer Arbeitnehmer. In: Remschmidt H (Hrsg) Psychotherapie mit Kindern, Jugendlichen und Familien, Bd 1. Enke Verlag, Stuttgart

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneewind KA, Beckmann M, Hecht-Jackl A (1985) Das Familienklima aus der Sichtweise der Eltern und der Kinder. Forschungsbericht aus dem Institutsbereich Persönlichkeitspsychologie und Psychodiagnostik. Ludwig Maximilians Universität, München

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinhausen H-Ch (1982) Psychische Störungen bei Gastarbeiterkindern im Rahmen einer kinder- und jugendpsychiatrischen Poliklinik. Z Kinder Jugendpsychiat 10:32–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinhausen H-Ch (1985) Psychiatric disorders in children and family dysfunction. A study of migrant workers' families, Soc Psychiatr 20:11–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinhausen H-Ch, Remschmidt H (1982) Migration und psychische Störungen. Ein Vergleich von Kindern griechischer “Gastarbeiter” und deutschen Kindern in West-Berlin. Z Kinder Jugendpsychiatr 10:344–364

    Google Scholar 

  • Treimann DJ (1975) Problems of concept and measurement in the comparative study of occupational morbidity. Soc Sci Res 4:183–230

    Google Scholar 

  • Weyerer S, Elton M, Diallina M & Fichter MM (1980) The principal component structure of the general health questionnaire among greek and turkish adolescents. Eur Arch Psychiatr Neurol Sci 236:75–82

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fichter, M.M., Elton, M., Diallina, M. et al. Mental illness in Greek and Turkish adolescents. Eur Arch Psychiatr Neurol Sci 237, 125–134 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00451279

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00451279

Key words

Navigation