The relationship between immigration and the secondary development of psychopathology remains unclear. Studies have raised contradictory findings, although it generally found that migrants face a higher level of stress than general population. This stress consists of different factors, of which “perceived discrimination” would appear to be the most significant. Clinical experience indicates that there may be an association between the intensity of stress related to perceived discrimination and mental disorders, of which anxiety and affective disorders are the most frequent. This study evaluates the relationship between perceived discrimination and anxiety and affective disorders.

The data was drawn from a multicentric, observational, cross-sectional study comparing psychopathology in migrants relative to the autochthonous population attending primary care health centres in Catalonia (Spain). 150 individuals from each cohort were evaluated with the MINI international Neuropsychiatric Interview and the Perceived Discrimination subscale of the Barcelona Immigration Stress Scale. A first step compared scores on anxiety and affective disorders between the two groups. In the second step, multivariate analyses were carried out to determine if perceived discrimination and sociodemographic factors were correlated with the presence of anxiety and affective disorders.

Immigrant patients were found to have higher levels of both anxiety and affective disorders relative to the autochthonous population. Perceived discrimination was predictive of psychopathology, and also moderated the impact of certain sociodemographic characteristics such as legal status.