Gender, Generational and Social Support Correlates of Mental Health in Asian Immigrants

Abstract

A sample of 100 Asian immigrants, mainly from India and Pakistan, were interviewed in their native language (Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi or English) concerning their psychological adjustment to life in Britain. It was predicted that female Indo- Pakistan immigrants would have higher levels of psychological symptomatology than male immigrants; and that second generation immigrants would have higher levels of psychological symptomatology than the first generation immigrants. The results showed that indeed the female immigrants did have significantly higher levels of psychological symptoms than males but that second generation immi grants did not have higher levels of psychological symptoms than the first generation immigrants. Social support networks of the subjects were not correlated with mental health. However for the two generations, there was evidence linking social support to mental health. The extent of acculturisation, as measured by identificational assimilation, was not correlated with mental health. Results are discussed in terms of the burgeoning literature in this field.