Abstract
This study examines to what extent subjective illness concepts and symptoms of Turkish patients in Germany have changed over 40 years. Two groups of patients of Turkish origin from psychosomatic clinics in Germany took part in the study, the first group made up of 690 patients from the "first generation" of migrants and the second group comprising 350 patients from the "fourth generation". The study was conducted using standardised interviews (The sociodemographic questionnaire, IPQ, COPE, BDI, SCL-90-R). Differences were found in essential aspects of subjective illness perception and illness coping strategies as well as in the diagnosis of psychological illness. The fourth generation of Turkish patients that were born and have grown up in Germany showed more problem-oriented behaviour regarding their coping strategies and less use of dysfunctional strategies for treatment than patients of the first generation. The findings of the present study are important for treating Turkish patients and patients of Turkish origin suffering from psychological disorders since they indicate that their disease perception, coping strategies and diagnoses undergo changes in the course of generations. Hitherto these differences were not taken into account in treatment; in the future we should be moving towards customised treatment in order to achieve better therapeutic effects.
Highlights
This study examines to what extent subjective illness concepts and symptoms of Turkish patients in Germany have changed over 40 years
Data collection in three psychosomatic hospitals was conducted between June 2007 and July 2011. We selected this long period of time because despite the clinics’ capacity, patients of Turkish origin accounted only for a small share of the total number of patients treated by these clinics
The present study examined 650 patients of the first generation and 350 patients of the fourth generation of Turkish migrants - and occasionally compared them to 34 German patients in the same age range as fourth generation members - hospitalised at psychosomatic clinics in Germany for possible differences in illness perception, in coping with illness and with regard to psychological disorders
Summary
This study examines to what extent subjective illness concepts and symptoms of Turkish patients in Germany have changed over 40 years. The findings of the present study are important for treating Turkish patients and patients of Turkish origin suffering from psychological disorders since they indicate that their disease perception, coping strategies and diagnoses undergo changes in the course of generations Hitherto these differences were not taken into account in treatment; in the future we should be moving towards customised treatment in order to achieve better therapeutic effects. Migration results in significant shifts in the psycho-social structure of any society and influences its socio-economic stratification, politics, culture, and public health system (Kizilhan & Bermejo, 2009) This change in a person’s life has an influence on individual and collective identity as well as on the way the past is “digested” and on whether or not integration into one’s host society is successful. According to a perceptual-cognitive model (Leventhal, Leventhal, & Cameron, 2001) there are cognitive and emotional illness representations that are significant for compliance, the course of an illness, and the effectiveness of its treatment
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