Abstract
The present study explores the impact of acculturation on depressive symptoms among Turkish immigrants in Germany, taking into account different dimensions of cultural orientation. A total of 471 patients from two selected samples (254 primary care patients and 217 outpatients of a psychosomatic department) participated. Levels of acculturation were measured as orientation towards culture of origin (CO), and orientation towards the host culture (HC). Acculturation strategies (integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalization) were also assessed as well as their association with depressive symptoms (BDI). Furthermore, gender- and migration-related differences in terms of acculturation and levels of depressive symptomatology were analyzed. Integration was the acculturation strategy associated with the lowest level of depressive symptoms (M = 14.6, SD = 11.9), while marginalization was associated with the highest (M = 23.5, SD = 14.7). Gender was not found to have a significant impact on acculturation but influenced depressive symptoms, with women (M = 21.8, SD = 13.3) reporting higher levels of depressive symptomatology than men (M = 15.1, SD = 14.0; p < 0.001). In first generation immigrants, significantly higher CO (M = 46.6, SD = 8.3; p < 0.001), lower HC (M = 31.0, SD = 9.6; p < 0.001), and higher levels of depressive symptoms (M = 20.2, SD = 14.1; p < 0.001) were found in comparison to second generation immigrants (CO: M = 41.3, SD = 7.4; HC: M = 36.2, SD = 8.8; depressive symptoms: M = 14.0, SD = 12.9). Our results suggest that orientation towards both the heritage and the host culture has a positive effect on the mental health status of immigrants. Future research needs to include representative samples of migrants from different cultures to further explore the association between acculturation and mental health.
Highlights
Over the last decades, a worldwide increase in international migration has been observed
The main focus of the present study was to investigate the association between acculturation levels and strategies and depressive symptoms in Turkish immigrants living in Germany
This result is consistent with previous research reporting a significant relation between affiliation to the new society and depressive symptomatology [16,22,24], or other indicators of mental health [19]; as well as studies reporting a relation between maintenance of identification with the origin culture and depression or psychological distress [21]
Summary
A worldwide increase in international migration has been observed. Europe is the region with the highest rate of immigrants, with 8.7% of the total migration population and every third migrant worldwide living in this continent [1]. In the face of expanding numbers of immigrants, scientific interest on migration and its impact on mental health has increased in recent years. Acculturation is a complex, multidimensional, and long-term process of psychological and social changes resulting from continuous interaction between individuals from different cultures [7]. These changes include learning a new language, creating a new social network, integrating new values, beliefs, attitudes, lifestyle patterns and so on. Mental disorders in people with migration background compared with German general population.
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