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      "Tangled wires in the head": older migrant Chinese's perception of mental illness in Britain.

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          Abstract

          In this article, the authors explored Cantonese-speaking older Chinese migrants knowledge, attitudes and expectations regarding mental illness. They obtained verbatim data from semi-structured interviews with eight participants recruited from London-based Chinese and church communities in Britain. They analyzed the data using the principles of Grounded Theory and in-depth content analysis. They examined cultural idioms in participants' accounts. Findings suggested that Western diagnostic categories of mental illness were alien to participants. They had a culturally constructed way of defining and characterizing mental illness. Participants used idioms of 'nerve', 'mood', 'behavior', 'personality', 'normal life', 'compassion' and the idiom of 'others' to construct an alternative world for stigma management. They erected an invisible but permeable barrier to limit access to their normal world. The role of traditional Chinese culture of Confucianism was significant in shaping perceptions and conceptions of mental illness. This article offered another perspective on the alternative world of Chinese migrants' cultural understandings of mental illness, an area with limited understanding at present. The authors discussed important implications for future research and social policy.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          J Aging Stud
          Journal of aging studies
          1879-193X
          0890-4065
          Aug 2014
          : 30
          Affiliations
          [1 ] Kingston University and St. George's, University of London, Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education, Grosvenor Wing, 2nd Floor, Cranmer Terrace, Tooting, London, SW17 ORE, United Kingdom. Electronic address: sarahshiuwaili@googlemail.com.
          [2 ] Kingston University and St George's, University of London, School of Social Work, Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education, Sir Frank Lampl's Building, Kingston Hill Campus, Kingston Hill, Surrey KT2 7LB, United Kingdom. Electronic address: E.Hatzidimitradou@sgul.kingston.ac.uk.
          [3 ] Kingston University and St. George's, University of London, Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education, Grosvenor Wing, 2nd Floor, Cranmer Terrace, Tooting, London, SW17 ORE, United Kingdom. Electronic address: M.Psoinos@sgul.kingston.ac.uk.
          Article
          S0890-4065(14)00029-2
          10.1016/j.jaging.2014.04.001
          24984910
          657787a4-4d9e-4fa0-a733-ecf6193fb411
          Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
          History

          Analysis,Chinese culture,Immigrants/migrants,Mental health and illness,Older people,Qualitative,Stigma

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