[Mental disorders in hospitalized children of migrant families from the Mediterranean].

From 1.1.1988 to 31.12.1992 928 inpatients at the child- and adolescent psychiatric clinic "Rheinhöhe" were recorded and studied. At that time the service area for this clinic for psychiatric care contained mixed rural/urban localities of four Southhessian sectors including a part of Frankfurt/M. The number of inpatients of Mediterranean origin in relation to German inpatients were significantly lower than expected but higher compared with earlier studies. The pattern of psychiatric disorders differed also in these two populations. The distribution according to sexes showed an moderate higher male rate for both groups (1.2:1). To study the differences in detail, 163 Mediterranean and German patients were matched according to age, gender, school education and SES and subsequently the Mediterranean patients were divided into those with a short- vs. a long-term-assimilation experience. As a result the significant higher rate of psychotic disorders among the Mediterranean treated inpatients counted for the different patterns, especially among the short-term assimilated patients. On the other hand, externalizing disorders were found to be significantly higher among the long-term assimilated Mediterranean inpatients but also among the German inpatients in contrast to the short-term assimilated migrant inpatients from the Mediterranean regions. Suicidal attempts were significantly more frequent among the Mediterranean girls than among their German counterparts. Thus key differences for utilising inpatient services remained; the reasons accounting for these dissimilarities are questionable and noteworthy for psychiatric care.