Gender, Life experiences and Reported Feelings of Wellbeing Among African Migrants in Germany

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this paper is to describe how male and female African migrants in Germany perceive general life experiences and how this perception affects their wellbeing.

Method: This paper is part of a large cross sectional study of African migrants in Germany. Data was collected from seventy nine (79) African migrants consisting of 58 (73%) males and 21 (26%) females with age in years ranging from 15 to 46 with a mean age of 31.6 (SD) =7.34. Through the snowballing approach participants were reached in the following cities: Bremen, Hamburg, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Köln, Bayreuth, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Munich.

Results: Results showed that males experienced more racism and reported more negative life experiences than females. However, females reported more psychological dysfunctions than males on the following measures: anxiety, depression, bizarre mentation, self esteem and negative treatment. There were no significant difference for males and females on health concerns, anger, social discomfort, family problems and work interface.

Conclusion: These results have far reaching implication for mental health potential of migrants and international migration. The results were discussed within the framework of male-female vulnerability and recommendations made in accordance with findings of the study.


Keywords: Gender\' Life experiences; Wellbeing; African migrants

Gender & Behaviour Vol. 6 (2) 2008: pp. 1702-1719