This study investigated the degree to which Turkish migrants in Germany, Turks in Turkey and Germans suffer from somatoform complaints and how these groups differ in reference to causal attributions. 94 Turkish migrants, 183 Turks and 91 Germans were investigated using the Screening for Somatoform Disorders (SOMS-2) and a modified scale for causal illness attributions stemming from the Illness-Perception Questionnaire-revised (IPQ-R). Turkish migrants and Turks suffered from significantly more somatoform complaints than Germans, but they did not differ from each other. The level of education and the employment status also contributed to the number of reported somatoform complaints. The causal attributions did not differ between the three groups. The reported higher number of somatoform complaints among Turkish migrants seems to be mainly associated with their cultural background and their education and employment-status, rather than the migration itself.

Education and employment status Somatoform complaints Cultural background Causal attributions Turkish migrants

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