Mental health, acculturation and religiosity in Jewish migrants from the former Soviet Union in Austria

Abstract

Research on migration provides controversial findings regarding the links between mental health and migration as well as the factors influencing the mental health of migrants. Even though there is evidence for differences between migrant groups from different countries of origin, almost no empirical studies about individual migrant groups in Austria have been undertaken so far. In the present population-based study we compared depression and anxiety of 96ex-Soviet Jews to asample of 101 Austrians matched by age and sex. Furthermore, we investigated the impact of acculturation attitude and religiosity on the psychological condition of the migrants. Depression and anxiety were measured with Beck-Depression-Inventory (BDI), State-Trait-Anxiety-Inventory (STAI) and Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Acculturation attitude was assessed with Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA) and religiosity with aself-developed scale. Ex-Soviet Jews were significantly more depressed and more anxious than native Austrians but not more likely to be affected by clinical depression. Integration (i.e. interest in both the original and the receiving society's culture) as an acculturation strategy was associated with the lowest mental health burden. Religiosity had aprotective effect against depression but not against anxiety. The present study allows initial insights into the mental health of amigrant group which has hardly been subject to research, and it indicates aneed for agreater opening of the Austrian majority population to migrants.