TY - JOUR PY - 2019// TI - Source-country individualism, cultural shock, and depression among immigrants JO - International journal of public health A1 - Frank, Kristyn A1 - Hou, Feng SP - 479 EP - 486 VL - 64 IS - 4 N2 - OBJECTIVES: To determine whether there is a relationship between source-country individualism and depression among different immigrant groups.

METHODS: Pooled data from the 2009-2014 waves of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) were used. The CCHS is a cross-sectional, nationally representative household survey. A sample of 4347 immigrants in Canada were studied, representing 101 source countries.

RESULTS: Multi-level logistic regression analysis showed a curvilinear relationship between source-country individualism and depression. A positive relationship was found among immigrants from countries with mid- to high levels of individualism. However, an inverse relationship was observed among immigrants from countries with low to mid-levels of individualism. Depression was significantly associated with the linear form of the source-country individualism measure [odds ratio (OR) 0.950; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.915-0.987] and its squared term (OR 1.063; 95% CI 1.026-1.102).

CONCLUSIONS: A high level of source-country individualism tends to increase the prevalence of depression among immigrants. There is also a cultural shock effect: the prevalence of depression was stronger in the initial years after immigration for those who migrated from countries with low levels of individualism.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 1661-8556 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00038-019-01218-z ID - ref1 ER -