title: Psychosocial factors and distress: a comparison between ethnic Norwegians and ethnic Pakistanis in Oslo, Norway.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In the Norwegian context, higher mental distress has been reported for the non-Western immigrants compared to the ethnic Norwegians and Western immigrants. This high level of distress is often related to different socio-economic conditions in this group. No efforts have been made earlier to observe the impact of changed psychosocial conditions on the state of mental distress of these immigrant communities due to the migration process. Therefore, the objective of the study was to investigate the association between psychological distress and psychosocial factors among Pakistani immigrants and ethnic Norwegians in Oslo, and to investigate to what extent differences in mental health could be explained by psychosocial and socioeconomic conditions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data was collected from questionnaires as a part of the Oslo Health Study 2000-2001. 13581 Norwegian born (attendance rate 46%) and 339 ethnic Pakistanis (attendance rate 38%) in the selected age groups participated. A 10-item version of Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL) was used as a measure of psychological distress.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pakistanis reported less education and lower employment rate than Norwegians (p < 0.005). The Pakistani immigrants also reported higher distress, mean HSCL score 1.53(1.48-1.59), compared to the ethnic Norwegians, HSCL score 1.30(1.29-1.30). The groups differed significantly (p < 0.005) with respect to social support and feeling of powerlessness, the Pakistanis reporting less support and more powerlessness. The expected difference in mean distress was reduced from 0.23 (0.19-0.29) to 0.07 (0.01-0.12) and 0.12 (0.07-0.18) when adjusted for socioeconomic and social support variables respectively. Adjusting for all these variables simultaneously, the difference in the distress level between the two groups was eliminated
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Poor social support and economic conditions are important mediators of mental health among immigrants. The public health recommendations/interventions should deal with both the economic conditions and social support system of immigrant communities simultaneously.
authors.affiliation: Department of International Health, Institute of General Practice and Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway. hammad@nakmi.no
authors.forename: Hammad Raza
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Syed
authors.forename: Odd Steffen
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Dalgard
authors.forename: Ingvild
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Dalen
authors.forename: Bjørgulf
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Claussen
authors.forename: Akthar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.forename: Randi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Selmer
authors.forename: Nora
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ahlberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D004522:Educational Status; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D010154:Pakistan / Q000208:ethnology; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D014478:Unemployment