Canada: Psychosis in the Immigrant Caribbean Population

Mary V. Seeman
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Mary V. Seeman: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 250 College Street, Toronto M5T 1R8, Canada, mary.seeman@utoronto.ca

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2011, vol. 57, issue 5, 462-470

Abstract: Background: Many reports from European countries suggest that acute episodes of psychosis are more frequent among immigrants from the Caribbean than among their non-immigrant peers. Aim: The aim of this selective review is to examine how the social correlates of migration to Canada interact with biological mechanisms to contribute to psychosis in the Caribbean population. Method: PubMed and JSTOR social science databases (between 1966 and 2010) were searched using the following search terms: psychiatric genetics; dopamine pathways; Caribbean family structure and child rearing; cannabis and psychosis; obstetric complications and schizophrenia; social defeat; social capital; racial discrimination; urbanicity; immigration; assimilation; and immigration. This was followed by the cross-checking of references pertinent to Canada. Results: There was no information about the prevalence of psychosis in Afro-Caribbean immigrant groups to Canada. There was a suggestion that the form the acute episode takes may differ, depending perhaps on the island of origin. Conclusion: Ethnicity and migration influence susceptibility and response to psychotic illness in a number of distinct and interacting ways depending both on the host country and the country of origin. Understanding the pathways can help to protect the health of immigrants.

Keywords: cannabis; Caribbean; ethnicity; family; genetics; migration; schizophrenia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:57:y:2011:i:5:p:462-470

DOI: 10.1177/0020764010365979

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