IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v392y2026ics0277953626000596.html

Sociocultural identification of migrant forensic psychiatric inpatients facing mandatory repatriation – a hospital ethnography

Author

Listed:
  • Clous, Charlotte
  • Jongsma, Hannah
  • van Weeghel, Anniek
  • Reis, Ria
  • Veling, Wim

Abstract

In the Netherlands, terbeschikkingstelling (TBS) is a forensic psychiatric measure imposed on individuals who commit a criminal offence under diminished responsibility due to severe mental illness. For TBS patients without Dutch nationality, mandatory repatriation replaces resocialization as the final goal of TBS treatment, as they lose Dutch residency rights due to their offence. This article examines how this subgroup of TBS patients at a Dutch Centre for Transcultural Forensic Psychiatry reflect on and negotiate cultural identity at the intersection of criminal and migration law. Focusing on sociocultural identification, we adopt a dynamic and relational approach to cultural identity that attends to life histories, transnational social ties, institutional positioning and imposed categories of otherness reinforced by involuntary return policies. Data were gathered through in-depth life-course interviews, focus groups, and participant observation on four high-security wards between 2022 and 2024.

Suggested Citation

  • Clous, Charlotte & Jongsma, Hannah & van Weeghel, Anniek & Reis, Ria & Veling, Wim, 2026. "Sociocultural identification of migrant forensic psychiatric inpatients facing mandatory repatriation – a hospital ethnography," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 392(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:392:y:2026:i:c:s0277953626000596
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.118984
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953626000596
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.118984?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. S Hoshmand & H Knegtering & SK Spoelstra, 2024. "Cultural competence of mental health practitioners in the Netherlands," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 70(2), pages 282-288, March.
    2. Hunt, L.M.Linda M. & Schneider, Suzanne & Comer, Brendon, 2004. "Should "acculturation" be a variable in health research? A critical review of research on US Hispanics," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(5), pages 973-986, September.
    3. Priscilla Kent & Kamaldeep Bhui, 2003. "Editorial: Cultural Identity and Mental Health," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 49(4), pages 243-246, December.
    4. Gerrits, Trudie & Reis, Ria & Braat, Didi, D.M. & Kremer, Jan, A.M. & Hardon, Anita, P., 2013. "Bioethics in practice: Addressing ethically sensitive requests in a Dutch fertility clinic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 330-339.
    5. repec:sae:mrxval:v:38:y:2004:i:3:p:1002-1039 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yeeun Lee & Subin Park, 2018. "The mental health of married immigrant women in South Korea and its risk and protective factors: A literature review," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 64(1), pages 80-91, February.
    2. Thijs Fassaert & Matty A.S. De Wit & Wilco C. Tuinebreijer & Jeroen W. Knipscheer & Arnoud P. Verhoeff & Aartjan T.F. Beekman & Jack Dekker, 2011. "Acculturation and Psychological Distress Among Non-Western Muslim Migrants - a Population-Based Survey," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 57(2), pages 132-143, March.
    3. Jonathan Zufferey, 2016. "Investigating the migrant mortality advantage at the intersections of social stratification in Switzerland," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 34(32), pages 899-926.
    4. Evans, Clare R. & Erickson, Natasha, 2019. "Intersectionality and depression in adolescence and early adulthood: A MAIHDA analysis of the national longitudinal study of adolescent to adult health, 1995–2008," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 1-11.
    5. Terriquez, Veronica & Joseph, Tiffany D., 2016. "Ethnoracial inequality and insurance coverage among Latino young adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 150-158.
    6. Ullmann, S. Heidi & Goldman, Noreen & Pebley, Anne R., 2013. "Contextual factors and weight change over time: A comparison between U.S. Hispanics and other population sub-groups," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 40-48.
    7. Claire E. Altman & Jennifer Van Hook & Jonathan Gonzalez, 2017. "Becoming Overweight without Gaining a Pound: Weight Evaluations and the Social Integration of Mexicans in the United States," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1), pages 3-36, March.
    8. Van Hook, Jennifer & Baker, Elizabeth & Altman, Claire E. & Frisco, Michelle L., 2012. "Canaries in a coalmine: Immigration and overweight among Mexican-origin children in the US and Mexico," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 125-134.
    9. Schmeer, Kammi K., 2012. "Early childhood economic disadvantage and the health of Hispanic children," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(8), pages 1523-1530.
    10. Bradby, Hannah, 2012. "Race, ethnicity and health: The costs and benefits of conceptualising racism and ethnicity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(6), pages 955-958.
    11. Acevedo-Garcia, Dolores & Pan, Jocelyn & Jun, Hee-Jin & Osypuk, Theresa L. & Emmons, Karen M., 2005. "The effect of immigrant generation on smoking," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(6), pages 1223-1242, September.
    12. Abdulrahim, Sawsan & Baker, Wayne, 2009. "Differences in self-rated health by immigrant status and language preference among Arab Americans in the Detroit Metropolitan Area," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 2097-2103, June.
    13. John, Dolly A. & de Castro, A.B. & Martin, Diane P. & Duran, Bonnie & Takeuchi, David T., 2012. "Does an immigrant health paradox exist among Asian Americans? Associations of nativity and occupational class with self-rated health and mental disorders," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(12), pages 2085-2098.
    14. Lu, Shengfeng & Chen, Sixia & Wang, Peigang, 2019. "Language barriers and health status of elderly migrants: Micro-evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 94-112.
    15. Mulvaney-Day, Norah E. & Alegría, Margarita & Sribney, William, 2007. "Social cohesion, social support, and health among Latinos in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 477-495, January.
    16. Fernando Riosmena & Randall Kuhn & Warren C. Jochem, 2017. "Explaining the Immigrant Health Advantage: Self-selection and Protection in Health-Related Factors Among Five Major National-Origin Immigrant Groups in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(1), pages 175-200, February.
    17. Creighton, Mathew J. & Goldman, Noreen & Pebley, Anne R. & Chung, Chang Y., 2012. "Durational and generational differences in Mexican immigrant obesity: Is acculturation the explanation?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(2), pages 300-310.
    18. Thomson, Maria D. & Hoffman-Goetz, Laurie, 2009. "Defining and measuring acculturation: A systematic review of public health studies with Hispanic populations in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(7), pages 983-991, October.
    19. Ro, Annie & Bostean, Georgiana, 2015. "Duration of U.S. stay and body mass index among Latino and Asian immigrants: A test of theoretical pathways," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 39-47.
    20. Acevedo-Garcia, Dolores & Sanchez-Vaznaugh, Emma V. & Viruell-Fuentes, Edna A. & Almeida, Joanna, 2012. "Integrating social epidemiology into immigrant health research: A cross-national framework," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(12), pages 2060-2068.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:392:y:2026:i:c:s0277953626000596. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.