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Associations between ethnicity and self-reported hallucinations in a population sample of young adults in The Netherlands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 December 2007

K. Vanheusden ,
C. L. Mulder ,
J. van der Ende ,
J.-P. Selten ,
F. J. van Lenthe ,
F. C. Verhulst  and
J. P. Mackenbach
K. Vanheusden
Affiliation:
Erasmus Medical Centre–Sophia Children's Hospital, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Erasmus Medical Centre, Department of Public Health, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
C. L. Mulder
Affiliation:
Mental Health Group Europoort, Barendrecht, The Netherlands Erasmus Medical Centre, Department of Psychiatry, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
J. van der Ende*
Affiliation:
Erasmus Medical Centre–Sophia Children's Hospital, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
J.-P. Selten
Affiliation:
Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Department of Psychiatry, Utrecht, The Netherlands
F. J. van Lenthe
Affiliation:
Erasmus Medical Centre, Department of Public Health, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
F. C. Verhulst
Affiliation:
Erasmus Medical Centre–Sophia Children's Hospital, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
J. P. Mackenbach
Affiliation:
Erasmus Medical Centre, Department of Public Health, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
*
*Address for correspondence: J. van der Ende, Erasmus Medical Centre–Sophia Children's Hospital, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Dr Molewaterplein 60, 3015 GJRotterdam, The Netherlands. (Email: jan.vanderende@erasmusmc.nl)
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Abstract

Background

Psychotic disorders are more common in people from ethnic minorities. If psychosis exists as a continuous phenotype, ethnic disparities in psychotic disorder will be accompanied by similar ethnic disparities in the rate of psychotic symptoms. This study examined ethnic disparities in self-reported hallucinations in a population sample of young adults.

Method

A cross-sectional population survey (n=2258) was carried out in the south-west Netherlands. Seven ethnic groups were delineated: Dutch natives, Turks, Moroccans, Surinamese/Antilleans, Indonesians, other non-Western immigrants (mostly from Africa or Asia) and Western immigrants (mostly from Western Europe). Self-reported auditory and visual hallucinations were assessed with the Adult Self-Report (ASR). Indicators of social adversity included social difficulties and a significant drop in financial resources.

Results

Compared to Dutch natives, Turkish females [odds ratio (OR) 13.48, 95% confidence interval (CI) 5.97–30.42], Moroccan males (OR 8.36, 95% CI 3.29–21.22), Surinamese/Antilleans (OR 2.19, 95% CI 1.05–4.58), Indonesians (OR 4.15, 95% CI 1.69–10.19) and other non-Western immigrants (OR 3.57, 95% CI 1.62–7.85) were more likely to report hallucinations, whereas Western immigrants, Turkish males and Moroccan females did not differ from their Dutch counterparts. When adjusting for social adversity, the ORs for self-reported hallucinations among the non-Western immigrant groups showed considerable reductions of 28% to 52%.

Conclusions

In a general population sample, several non-Western immigrant groups reported hallucinations more often than Dutch natives, which is consistent with the higher incidence of psychotic disorders in most of these groups. The associations between ethnicity and hallucinations diminished after adjustment for social adversity, which supports the view that adverse social experiences contribute to the higher rate of psychosis among migrants.

Keywords

Ethnicityhallucinationspopulation-based studyyoung adults
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 38 , Issue 8 , August 2008 , pp. 1095 - 1102
Copyright
Copyright © 2007 Cambridge University Press

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