Abstract
Germany is one of many nations characterized by an increasing number of children originating from families with a migration background. Medical treatment modalities will be required to adjust for diversity of social and cultural background. Initiated by the Federal Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (BKJPP), representing mainly those psychiatrists working in private practice, and by the Federal Working Commission of Medical Directors employed in Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics (BAG), a questionnaire was constructed to identify mental health professionals’ (psychiatrists’) evaluation of the needs and quality of diagnosis and treatment for migrant families. The current study focused on medical directors and deputy chief physicians in clinics for child and adolescent psychiatry. Preliminary results of this survey – implementing descriptive statistics as well as univariate and multivariate statistical analyses – permitted an assessment of the current state of identification and treatment of migrant offspring attending child and adolescent psychiatric practices in Germany. Recommendations and concrete steps are offered, which aim to promote “cultural opening”, and assist in health and social policy makers’ decisions for improved mental health care.
- 1
The authors wish to thank the anonymous reviewer for the comments.
References
1. Ward C, Bochner S, Furnham A. The psychology of culture shock, 2nd ed. London & New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis, 2001.Search in Google Scholar
2. ECDC. Migrant health: background note to the ECDC Report on migration and infectious diseases in the EU. ECDC, Stockholm, 2009.Search in Google Scholar
3. Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. Migration in Deutschland, 2013. Available at: http://www.bpb.de/gesellschaft/migration/dossier-migration/56334/migration-in-deutschland.Search in Google Scholar
4. Elger K, Kneip P, Theile M. Immigration survey shows alarming lack of integration in Germany. Spiegel online, 2013. Available at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/grossbild-603588-1416723.html.Search in Google Scholar
5. Fassaert JL, de Wit MAS, Tuinebreijer WC, Verhoeff AP, Beekman ATF, et al. Perceived need for mental health care among non-Western labor migrants. Soc Psych Psych Epidemiol 2009;44:208–16.10.1007/s00127-008-0418-xSearch in Google Scholar PubMed
6. Kirkcaldy BD, Furnham A, Veenhoven R. Health care and subjective well-being in nations. In: Cooper CL, Antoniou A, Stamatios G, editors. Research companion to organisational health psychology. Cheltenham & Northampton: E. Elgar Publ. Ltd, 2005:393–412.Search in Google Scholar
7. Ingleby D. European research on migration and health. In: Peiro MJ, Benedict R, editors. Brussels: IOM, 2009.Search in Google Scholar
8. Minas IH, Lambert T, Boranga G, Kostov S. Mental health services for immigrants: transforming policy into practice. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service, 1996.Search in Google Scholar
9. Kanitsaki O. Mental health, culture and spirituality: implications for the effective psychotherapeutic care of Australia’s ageing migrant populations. J Rel Gerontol 2003;13:17–37.10.1300/J078v13n03_02Search in Google Scholar
10. Bhugra D. Migration, distress and cultural identity. Br Med Bull 2004;61:129–41.10.1093/bmb/ldh007Search in Google Scholar PubMed
11. Caroppa E, Muscelli C, Brogna P, Paci M, Camerino C, et al. Relating with migrants: ethnopsychiatry and psychotherapy. Ann. Lst Super Sanita 2009;45:331–40.Search in Google Scholar
12. Johnstone M. Stigma, social justice and the rights of the mentally ill: challenging the status quo. Aust NZ J Ment Health Nurs 2001;10:200–9.10.1046/j.1440-0979.2001.00212.xSearch in Google Scholar PubMed
13. Kirkcaldy BD, Furnham AF, Siefen RG. The effects of gender and migrant status on physical and psychological well-being. Int J Child Adolesc Health 2009;21:61–72.10.1515/IJAMH.2009.21.1.61Search in Google Scholar PubMed
14. Kirkcaldy BD, Furnham A, Siefen G. Migration and health: psychosocial determinants. In: Chrousos G, Cooper C, Eysenck M, Spielberger C, Stamatios-Anthoniou, editors. Handbook of managerial behavior and occupational health. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgars, 2009:328–44.Search in Google Scholar
15. Kirkcaldy BD, Furnham AF, Siefen RG. Transcultural psychopharmacology: impact on psychological health related variables. In: Kirkcaldy BD, editor. The art and science of health care: psychology and human factors for practitioners. Göttingen, New York & Vienna: Hogrefe Publishers, 2011.Search in Google Scholar
16. Siefen RG, Kirkcaldy BD, Athanasou JA. Parental attitudes: a study of German, Greek and second generation Greek migrant adolescents. Hum Relat 1996;49:837–51.10.1177/001872679604900606Search in Google Scholar
17. Nesteruk O, Marks LD. Parenting in immigration: experiences of mothers and fathers from Eastern Europe raising children in the United States. J Comp Fam Stud 2011;42:809–23.10.3138/jcfs.42.6.809Search in Google Scholar
18. Dogra N, Karim K, Ronzoni P. Migration and its effect on child mental health. In: Bhugra D, Gupta S, editors. Migration and mental health. Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011.Search in Google Scholar
19. Stevens GW, Vollebergh MA. Mental health in migrant children. J Child Psychol Psychiat 2008;49:276–94.10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01848.xSearch in Google Scholar PubMed
20. Vollebergh WAM, ten Have M, Ossterwegel A, Pels T, Veenstra R, et al. Mental health in immigrant children in the Netherlands. Soc Psych Psych Epidemiol 2005;40:489–96.10.1007/s00127-005-0906-1Search in Google Scholar PubMed
21. UNICEF. Children in immigrant families in eight affluent countries. Their family, national and international context. Innocenti Research Centre. Florence: UNICEF, 2009.Search in Google Scholar
22. Helman C. Culture, health and illness, 5th ed. London: Arnold Hodder, 2007.10.1201/b13281Search in Google Scholar
23. Razum O, Spallek JS. Wie gesund sind Migranten? Erkenntnisse und Zusammenhänge am Beispiel der Zuwanderer in Deutschland. Focus, Migration. Kurzdosier. Nr. 12. Hamburg: HWWI, 2009.Search in Google Scholar
24. Gün AK. Berücksichtigung von Familienstrukturen bei der präventiven und therapeutischen Arbeit. In: Förderung der gesunden psychischen Entwicklung von Kindern und Jugendlichen mit Migrationshintergrund. Ergebnis einer Tagung mit Expertinnen und Experten in Köln, 8. November. BZgA, Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung, 2011.Search in Google Scholar
25. Burnett A, Peel M. Health needs of asylum seekers and refugees. Br Med J 2001;322:544–7.10.1136/bmj.322.7285.544Search in Google Scholar
26. BMG. Daten des Gesundheitsministerium. Bundesministerium für Gesundheit, Berlin, 2012.Search in Google Scholar
27. Warnke A, Lehmkuhl G. Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie in Deutschland. Kap. Struktur und Organisation (u. Mitarbeit von R. Scheper). 4. Auflage. Stuttgart: Schattauer, 2011.Search in Google Scholar
28. Kirkcaldy BD, Furnham AF, Siefen RG. Health and educational performance among young migrants. Int J Adolesc Ment Health 2013;25:13–30.10.1515/ijamh-2013-0003Search in Google Scholar
29. Schouler-Ocak M, Bretz HJ, Penka S, Koch E, Hartkamp N, et al. Patients of immigrant origin in inpatient psychiatric facilities: representative national survey by the Psychiatry and Migration Working Group of the German Federal Conference of Psychiatric Hospital Directors. Eur Psych 2008;23(Supplement)1:21–7.10.1016/S0924-9338(08)70058-0Search in Google Scholar
30. Aichberger MC, Yesil R, Rapp M, Schlattman P, Temur-Erman S, et al. Surveying migrant populations – methodological considerations. An example from Germany. Int J Cult Ment Health 2012; 6:81–95.10.1080/17542863.2011.642981Search in Google Scholar
31. Nadeau L, Measham T. Immigrant and mental health services: increasing collaboration with other service providers. Canadian Child Adolesc Psych Rev 2005;14:73–6.Search in Google Scholar
32. Huemer J, Karnik NS, Voelk-Kernstock S, Granditsch E, Dervic K, et al. Mental health issues in unaccompanied refugee minors. Child Adolesc Psych Ment Health 2009;3:13.10.1186/1753-2000-3-13Search in Google Scholar
33. Ward C. The ABCs of acculturation. In: Matsumoto D, editor. The handbook of culture and psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001:411–45.Search in Google Scholar
34. Searle W, Ward C. The prediction of psychological and sociocultural adjustment during cross-cultural transitions. Int J Intercult Rel 1990;14:449–64.10.1016/0147-1767(90)90030-ZSearch in Google Scholar
35. Furnham A. Lay theories: everyday understanding in the social sciences. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1988.Search in Google Scholar
36. Kirkcaldy BD, Dogra N, Furnham A, Siefen RG. Attitudes towards treatment of migrant youth and their families among child and adolescent psychiatrists: Current clinical practice and developmental perspectives. Divers Equal Health Care, 2014;11:49–59.10.21767/2049-5471.100003Search in Google Scholar
© 2014 by De Gruyter