Stress as an idiom for resilience
Health and migration among sub-Saharan Africans in Switzerland
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2171860 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Brigit Obrist (0000-0001-7576-1291, University of Basel, corresponding author), Silvia Büchi |
| Year | 2008 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 251-261 |
| Publication date | 2008-12-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Anthropology and Medicine (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1364-8470 • E-ISSN: 1469-2910 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13648470802357596 |
| PMID | 27269428 |
| OpenAlex | W2161858592 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 12 |
| References cited | 4 |
Most research on migrants examines what makes them ill. Inspired by Antonovsky's salutogenic approach, this study shifts the perspective and asks why migrants stay healthy. At the centre of interest are sub-Saharan Africans living in Switzerland who consider themselves and/or are considered by others as mastering problems affecting their health. The mixed Swiss-African research team explored meanings of health and resilience in 20 case studies in Zurich and Basel and five group discussions in Bern, Biel and Geneva. The data show that migrants with resilient trajectories have a dynamic and multi-dimensional understanding of health. Moreover, they have learnt to interpret difficulties as 'stress': a popular illness concept in Switzerland and Europe but less known in their home countries. The paper argues that resilience is closely related with the appropriation of 'stress' as an illness concept: it not only gives meaning and helps to explain diffuse symptoms of ill-health, it also offers an agenda for action and contributes to their feeling of social belonging in the host country. These findings have important implications for policy and practice in the rapidly changing field of migration and health
Action (physics · Appropriation · Epistemology · Feeling · Health care · Meaning (existential · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Psychological resilience · Sociology · Sociology of health and illness · Gender Studies · Health disparities and outcomes · Health, psychology, and well-being · Law · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology · Social Psychology
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| Citations per year | 0.86 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2012 - 2025 (14) |
| Highly cited | No |