Among the key findings:
- The rate of psychosis was no greater among Caribbean men than among white men (about 1 per cent).
However, other research has shown that Caribbeans, particularly young Caribbean men, are far more likely
than whites to be receiving hospital treatment for psychosis;
- Caribbeans were 60 per cent more likely to suffer depression than whites and Caribbean men were twice as
likely to be depressed as white men. However, single people and lone parents experienced lower rates of
depression than those who were married or co-habiting;
- Overall, Caribbeans had the highest rates of mental illness, but Irish and other minority whites (those
born outside Britain) seemed to suffer similar rates. The author suggests that 'ethnic minority status might
increase the risk of mental illness, regardless of skin colour.' Chinese suffered the lowest rates of mental
illness;
- Contrary to research on deaths from suicide, South Asian women were no more likely to harbour suicidal
thoughts than white women. Caribbeans, Irish and other minority whites were most likely to have thoughts of
suicide. Indeed, as many as 7.2 per cent of young Caribbeans (aged 16 - 24) thought life not worth living,
compared to 2.5 per cent of their white peers;
- Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis appeared less likely to suffer mental health problems than whites.
However, this apparent shortfall occurred mainly in people who had recently arrived in Britain, who may not have
been able to report their feelings of stress in terms which western diagnostic techniques recognized. These
findings suggest that western psychiatric medicine may be failing to identify mental illness among South Asians;
- Marriage or cohabitation increased the risk of mental illness for Caribbean women, although it reduced the risk
for whites and South Asians. By contrast, class was inversely related to mental illness for all ethnic groups.
|
