title: Comparative levels of psychological distress in a pre-migratory refugee population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study compares levels of psychological distress in a pre-migratory sample of Vietnamese Amerasians with those in a like-aged, non-migratory sample of Vietnamese living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects were assessed using two measures developed and validated for Vietnamese clinical populations in the United States: the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 and the Vietnamese Depression Scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Amerasians had significantly higher symptom levels on the depression scale of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25, but not on the other measures utilised.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Amerasians' higher levels of depressive symptoms are probably a result of their traumatic lives in Vietnam, but may also reflect acute situational factors or selection bias.
authors.affiliation: Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, Subiaco, Australia.
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: McKelvey
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Webb
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010552:Personality Assessment; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology*; D012931:Social Environment; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*; D014505:Urban Population; D014744:Vietnam / Q000208:ethnology