Immigrant acculturation and mental health of Portuguese women living in South Africa

Abstract

This study aims to gain an understanding of the mental health and acculturative experiences of Portuguese women who immigrated to South Africa in the 1960s. A qualitative research design was utilised with semi-structured interviews to gain information from four Portuguese female immigrants. Thematic analysis reveals experiences of acculturative stress and a difficult assimilation process. The main difficulties were: poor proficiency in the host country’s local languages; availability of social and organisational support; access to medical services; and access to mental health services. These factors were linked to the occurrence of the mental health problems of: depression, isolation, and being actively discriminated against by the dominant Afrikaner community during the apartheid years. The respondents’ poor proficiency in English and their unwillingness to learn Afrikaans, combined with a fear of stigmatisation hampered their willingness to access psychological and mental health services. The negative factors were mitigated by the protective factors of: the traditional family structure, formal community organisations (societies and clubs), and the church.