LIFE CHANGE AND PSYCHIATRIC DISTURBANCE IN A SOUTH AMERICAN CITY: THE EFFECTS OF GEOGRAPHIC AND SOCIAL MOBILITY.

Geographic and social mobility are important sources of life change for the majority of people in the modern world. On the assumption that such social transitions are potentially stressful, researchers have investigated the relationship between mobility and psychiatric disturbance. Results from these studies are inconsistent and sometimes contradictory, often due to conceptual and methodological differences. This study offers new evidence on this issue. Interviews were conducted with 681 adults residing in a large Colombian city. Analysis focuses on relationships between geographic and social mobility and manifestations of psychiatric symptoms, but also includes consideration of the effects of age, sex, and education. Results indicate significantly higher symptom scores for females and persons with lower educational attainment as well as certain types of social mobility experience. Variations by age and migration experience are minimal. This study casts some doubt about the stressful effects of migration, tends to support the notion that social mobility is related to psychiatric disturbance and, above all, shows that sex and education are factors that override the influence of either type of mobility experience. The paper concludes with the suggestion that these findings can be utilized for purposes of primary prevention and an indication of lines along which future research should be organized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]