Research

Better mental health in children of Vietnamese refugees compared with their Norwegian peers - a matter of cultural difference?

Aina Basilier Vaage^1,2 , Laila Tingvold³ , Edvard Hauff^3,4 , Thong Van Ta⁵ , Tore Wentzel-Larsen⁶ , Jocelyne Clench-Aas⁷ and Per Hove Thomsen^1,8

¹  Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

²  Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway

³  Institute of Psychiatry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

⁴  Oslo University Hospital, Ullevål Department of Psychiatry, Oslo, Norway

⁵  International House Foundation, Stavanger, Norway

⁶  Centre for Clinical Research, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway

⁷  Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Division of Mental Health, Oslo, Norway

⁸  Centre for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark

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Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2009, 3:34doi:10.1186/1753-2000-3-34

Published:	21 October 2009

Abstract

Background

There are conflicting results on whether immigrant children are at a heightened risk of mental health problems compared with native youth in the resettlement country.

The objective of the study

To compare the mental health of 94 Norwegian-born children from a community cohort of Vietnamese refugees, aged 4 - 18 years, with that of a Norwegian community sample.

Methods

The SDQ was completed by two types of informants; the children's self-reports, and the parents' reports, for comparison with Norwegian data from the Health Profiles for Children and Youth in the Akershus study.

Results

The self-perceived mental health of second-generation Vietnamese in Norway was better than that of their Norwegian compatriots, as assessed by the SDQ. In the Norwegian-Vietnamese group, both children and parents reported a higher level of functioning.

Conclusion

This surprising finding may result from the lower prevalence of mental distress in Norwegian-Vietnamese children compared with their Norwegian peers, or from biased reports and cultural differences in reporting emotional and behavioural problems. These findings may represent the positive results of the children's bi-cultural competencies.