title: The impact of immigration and visible minority status on psychosis symptom profile.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Immigrants have heightened risks of psychotic disorders, and it is proposed that migration influences symptom profiles. The purpose of this study was to investigate if either migration experience and/or visible minority status affected symptom profiles, using a cross-culturally validated five-factor model of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), in patients with broadly defined psychotic disorders.
  
  
  METHODS
  PANSS was assessed in a large catchment area based sample of patients with psychotic disorders verified with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (n = 1,081). Symptom profiles based on Wallwork et al. five-factor model were compared for Norwegians (73 %), white immigrants (10.5 %), and visible minority groups (16.5 %).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Visible minorities were significantly younger, had less education, more often a schizophrenia diagnosis and higher PANSS positive, negative and disorganized/concrete factor scores than Norwegians and white immigrants. After controlling for confounders only the items "Delusions" and "Difficulty in abstract thinking" differed between groups. Multivariate analyses indicated that these items were not associated with immigration per se, but rather belonging to a visible minority.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found mostly similarities in psychotic symptoms between immigrants and Norwegians when using a cross-culturally validated five-factor model of the PANSS. Immigration did not directly influence psychotic symptom profiles but visible minority groups had higher levels of "Delusions" and "Difficulty in abstract thinking", both symptoms that are partially context dependent.
authors.affiliation: Norment, K.G. Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, University of Oslo, Oslo or Ullevål University Hospital HF, Building 49, Nydalen, 4956, 0424, Oslo, Norway, a.o.berg@medisin.uio.no.
authors.forename: Akiah Ottesen
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.forename: Ole A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Andreassen
authors.forename: Sofie Ragnhild
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Aminoff
authors.forename: Kristin Lie
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Romm
authors.forename: Edvard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hauff
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Melle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003702:Delusions / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D063189:Symptom Assessment; D055815:Young Adult