Introduction: The goal of the study was to screen mental disorders in Afghan immigrants who lived in Tehran in the year 2003.
Method: In this research 453 Afghan immigrants (227 male and 226 female) were selected by cluster sampling from different areas of Tehran. Instruments were a demographic questionnaire on substance abuse and suicidal thoughts and attempted suicide, and the General Health questionnaire( GHQ-28) completed by Afghan interviewers. Data were analyzed using t-test, and ANOVA.
Results: Findings showed that the prevalence of mental disorders was 55.6% (19.9% in males; 35.7% in females).Prevalence of social dysfunction, anxiety, and somatic symptoms were higher than the depression. Ten percent of Afghan immigrants smoked cigarettes and 4% of them were substance abuser. Four percent had suicidal thoughts and 2% had attempted suicide. There was a significant association between mental disorders and demographic characteristics except for family size. Also there was a significant association between mental disorders and type of residence (i.e. centered vs. noncentered), but no meaningful relationship with the duration of stay in Iran, reason for migration and place of residence.
Conclusion: Mental disorders are of high prevalence in Afghan immigrants in Tehran.