AUSSIE STUDY

In the on-going debate between those who stay in South Africa and those who leave, two things stand out - the mostly negative talk between the two sides, and the name-calling. Lost in this, is the emotional and psychological upheaval that goes with emigration. Now an article has been published in the South African Journal of Psychology, entitled “Predictors of psychological distress in South African immigrants to Australia”. It was researched and written by Nigar G. Khawaja and Lesleyanne Mason of Queensland University of Technology. It is believed to be the first scientific study of South African immigration to Australia that focuses on the reasons for emigrating and the emotional and psychological upheaval that they go through. One hundred and one white South Africans in Brisbane and Melbourne, who had left South Africa less than 5 years ago, were complete a battery of questionnaires. The study found that psychological distress was not affected by gender or employment status. However, it differed significantly on the basis of their duration of stay in Australia with the distress reducing as the length of stay increased. Furthermore, factors such as grief as a result of immigration, low levels of self esteem and finally the experience of crime in South Africa, contributed to the psychological distress experienced by these South African immigrants. The study found that in the first five years in Australia, South Africans feel more bereaved than any other immigrant group. This was studied by means of the Core Bereavement Scale.