Mental health among immigrants : The case of asylum seekers in Finland
Björkfors, Josefine (2023)
Björkfors, Josefine
2023
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2023051644582
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2023051644582
Tiivistelmä
The objective of this thesis is to examine mental health among immigrants, with a primary focus on forced migrants. Rather than conducting an original study, this thesis will consist of a literature review and analysis of previous research on the topic, including both international and national studies. The primary aim is to investigate mental health among asylum seekers in Finland, and this specific group of immigrants will be the main emphasis of the study.
The result of my review, is that immigrants as one, whole group, do not necessarily have more mental health problems than the entire population. The reason why some migrants develop mental health problems is very different depending on their cultural background, their reason for migrating, pre-migration occurrences and the attitudes towards them in the new host country. Therefore, various studies show different results when examining “immigrants” as a whole.
Forced migrants are shown to be more likely to suffer from mental health problems than voluntary migrants, as their reason for migrating is usually more traumatic than among voluntary migrants. The migration journey may also have been more difficult than for voluntary migrants, which may be a contributing factor to mental health related problems. Pre-migration trauma, a difficult migration journey along with post-migration stressors, such as acculturation and prejudice, may make it hard to cope in the new country, which make forced migrants at higher risk of developing mental health problems.
Asylum seekers are shown to often have suffered from both pre-migration trauma in form of e.g. torture and war, as well as post-migration stress, in form of e.g. discrimination and a long asylum process, which makes them more vulnerable to mental health problems.
The TERTTU-project is currently the largest study on asylum seekers’ mental health in Finland. The study showed that the majority of asylum seekers (82 %) reported having been victim of a traumatic event prior to arriving to Finland, which may have a contributing factor to PTSD. However, it is important to acknowledge the differences among people in coping and reacting to different situations. Not all who are victims of traumatic events develop mental health issues. The study also showed that 40 % of the participants reported suffering from some form of mental health problem. This suggests that while asylum seekers are very prone to various forms of mental health related problems, not all asylum seekers develop mental health issues.
The result of my review, is that immigrants as one, whole group, do not necessarily have more mental health problems than the entire population. The reason why some migrants develop mental health problems is very different depending on their cultural background, their reason for migrating, pre-migration occurrences and the attitudes towards them in the new host country. Therefore, various studies show different results when examining “immigrants” as a whole.
Forced migrants are shown to be more likely to suffer from mental health problems than voluntary migrants, as their reason for migrating is usually more traumatic than among voluntary migrants. The migration journey may also have been more difficult than for voluntary migrants, which may be a contributing factor to mental health related problems. Pre-migration trauma, a difficult migration journey along with post-migration stressors, such as acculturation and prejudice, may make it hard to cope in the new country, which make forced migrants at higher risk of developing mental health problems.
Asylum seekers are shown to often have suffered from both pre-migration trauma in form of e.g. torture and war, as well as post-migration stress, in form of e.g. discrimination and a long asylum process, which makes them more vulnerable to mental health problems.
The TERTTU-project is currently the largest study on asylum seekers’ mental health in Finland. The study showed that the majority of asylum seekers (82 %) reported having been victim of a traumatic event prior to arriving to Finland, which may have a contributing factor to PTSD. However, it is important to acknowledge the differences among people in coping and reacting to different situations. Not all who are victims of traumatic events develop mental health issues. The study also showed that 40 % of the participants reported suffering from some form of mental health problem. This suggests that while asylum seekers are very prone to various forms of mental health related problems, not all asylum seekers develop mental health issues.