Immigration and Psychiatry: Yugoslav-Born Minority in Victoria

Work in a special ethnic psychiatric service for Yugoslav emigrants in Victoria (Australia) enabled the author to produce to this study on the mental consequences of emigration. The paper lists general data on Yugoslav emigrants to Australia, the fundamental characteristics of the new environment, the extent of psychiatric and social-psychiatric pathology and abnormalities among them. Also a description of the gener4al imprint among them is given. The author presents a critical evolution of the official Australian statistical data on the large percentage of schizophrenia, alcoholism a suicide cases among them. Based on personal observatories, he ascertains that the data on the data on the large number of schizophrenia cases are mistaken, as the diagnoses were confirmed only in a quarter of cases. He also finds out that the usual neurotic among the emigrants had more expressed form and a very unfavourable course and that various psychic troubles are widespread among them, especially because of the language problem, a change of habits and other similar reasons.