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Background: Previous epidemiological studies have shown a high incidence of schizophrenia in African-Caribbeans in the UK, but not in Asians. Aims: We investigated the hypothesis that cultural adherence might protect the Asians against the stress of living in a majority white culture. Methods: The Culture and Identity Schedule (CANDID) was given to patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia making their first contact with psychiatric services, and to a matched group of controls randomly selected from the general population. Results: While the Asian patients displayed no drift away from the traditional values as espoused by their controls, the African-Caribbean patients were less traditional than their controls. Conclusions: The fact that a movement away from their traditional culture distinguishes African-Caribbean patients with a severe psychiatric illness, schizophrenia, from their mentally healthy controls strongly favours marginalization over biculturalism as an interpretation of this shift.

Background: Acculturation is the phenomenon that results when a group with one culture comes into continuous contact with a host culture and changes occur in the original culture of either one or both groups. Acculturation has also been linked with stress-related psychological disorder and depression. Aims: This article investigates the acculturation process and the depressive state of foreign immigrants living in the greater Athens area. Methods: All consecutive cases of 157 foreign immigrants who visited a nongovernmental organization (NGO) providing consultative services to immigrants were interviewed using a structured questionnaire including the Immigrant Acculturation Scale (IAS) and the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies--Depression (CES-D) scale. Results: Factor analysis of IAS yielded a three-factor solution and 17 items with loadings ranging from 0.74 to 0.41. This scale was also tested and proven to be reliable. The main finding is that the higher the acculturation level of the immigrant individual, the lower the CES-D scale score; the fewer the depressive symptoms are self-reported. Length of stay, existence of family in Greece, legal status of residence and employment were also found to have an effect on depressive symptomatology. Conclusion: Acculturation could be seen as a beneficial mechanism protecting the individual to be exposed to stressful non-adaptive behaviour. Key words: acculturation, adaptation, depressive state, immigration

Background: The current literature on the relationship between cultural adaptation and mental health is premature to offer a comprehensive explanation about the ways acculturation exerts either positive or adverse effects on the mental health of migrants. Aim: This study is an empirical approach towards understanding the magnitude of the relationship between consequences of cultural adaptation and psychological distress. Methods: Two samples of Ghanaian migrants in the Netherlands were included: a clinical group (n=36) and a non-clinical community group (n = 97). Data were acquired by administering a semi-structured interview. Quantified data were analysed using multivariate techniques. Results: Contradictory to our hypotheses, the reported level of mental health symptoms in both groups was relatively low, suggesting a substantial resilience among the Ghanaian group. Confirming our hypotheses, specific dimensions of the acculturation process were associated with health status, particularly affiliation with cultural traditions and feelings of loss concerning the country of birth. Conclusions: Acculturation demands capture critical elements of migrants' experiences that warrant professional interventions tailored to their specific needs. A subtle balance between holding on to the supportive cultural traditions together with moderate involvement in ruminating about pre-migration life, in conjunction with acquiring instrumental skills of the host culture, is a starting position for better health.