Objective - To analyse and elucidate the migration process in order to identify psycho-social themes which might act as stressors with influence on health. Design - Qualitative in-depth interviews with eleven strategically selected Latin American refugees. Setting - Latin American refugees living in Lund, a university town, and those who were repatriated to Santiago, Chile. Participants - 11 Latin Americans of whom 4 were repatriated to Chile. Results - the migration process was divided into four courses of events: cultural background and everyday life; organized violence; the exile; the repatriation. "Themes" such as cultural and working identity and high control were extracted from the dialogues as central buffering factors against microbiological or physicochemical disease agents harboured by the individual. Conclusions - During the exile the cultural barrier, social degradation, guilt, social passivity, and ideological alienation cause a changed identity and low control which increase the vulnerability to psychological distress and physical disease. © 1995 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved: reproduction in whole or part not permitted.

Qualitative study Migration Latin American refugees Conditional stressors

social psychology refugee Social Identification human social isolation Refugees violence controlled study health status Aged Adaptation, Psychological Sweden migrant worker male female clinical article Article Support, Non-U.S. Gov't adult migration Chile Emigration and Immigration employment Health Services Accessibility Middle Age Culture