Abstract
This research was undertaken, using standardised measures of mental health previously validated in general practice surveys, to survey the level of mental health in two contrasted Barbadian populations, in Reading and Barbados. Hypotheses have been tested about the effects of community integration and mental health level in the contrasted communities including the relationships between the stresses of migration and adaptation and poor mental health. Levels of mental health in the Barbadian population as a whole have been compared with measures of mental health obtained in previous normative samples of the indigenous population in Britain. The roles of social stress, sex, marital status, church attendance, educational level, goal striving/high aspiration in the adjustment of Barbadian migrants have been considered in some detail. Barbadian cultural norms regarding the nature and causes of "madness" have been explored. Data from the research has shown that Barbadian migrants in Reading have poorer mental health than non-migrant Barbadians, and poorer mental health than the English normative sample. Moreover, the absence of significant sex differences - the scores for the Barbadian males in Reading suggested a particular kind of psychological adjustment following migration. Patterns of mental health are quite different in the two Barbadian samples. All the factors considered - housing, marital status, pre-migration plans, community support, stress and social mobility - are important for the mental health of some groups. I have examined the interaction between these factors and while some causal connection can be established, the complexity is too great to produce conclusive findings on the various factors.