Internalising and externalising behaviours in young adults: Dutch natives and Turkish migrants in the Netherlands

Objective. To compare the prevalence of internalising and externalising behaviour of Dutch and Turkish migrant young adults in the Netherlands. We will also assess associations with socio-economic position. Method. Dutch natives (1,236) and Turkish migrants (438), age 18-28, completed the Young Adult Self-Report. Scores above the 90th percentile of the distribution of the Dutch sample were defined as deviant. Results. Turkish migrants more often reported deviant scores than natives for internalising problems, especially for the Anxious/Depressed syndrome. For externalising problems, Turkish migrants less often had deviant scores for Intrusive Behaviour, whereas Turkish women more often had deviant scores for Aggressive and Delinquent Behaviour. Similar results were found for comparison between mean scores. After adjustment for socio-economic position, the disparities in men remained, whereas disparities in women largely disappeared. Conclusion. Compared with Dutch young adults, Turkish migrant young adults reported more problems. Ethnic disparities were strongly associated with socio-economic disparities among women, but not among men.

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