A nationwide register study was carried out in Denmark comprising 50,877 persons aged 18-66, who were registered in 2003 in the Danish Psychiatric Register or the National Patient Register with a psychiatric ICD-10 diagnosis.

Of the population 87.1% were ethnic Danes, 7.8% migrants, 4.0% descendants with one Danish born parent, 0.7% descendants with both parents born outside Denmark and 0.3% foreign adoptees. Males comprised 49%, women 51% of the population.

The 5 ethnic groups had significant differences in utilization of care, in diagnostic distribution and in the use of coercion.

Self-mutilating behaviour was seen more frequently among female descendants from non-Western countries than among migrant women from non -Western countries as well as among young adopted women. Similarly, we see that personality disorders were higher in adopted and descendant young women. In males, we found that substance abuse was higher among men in all ethnic groups, but lower among migrant groups compared to Danes.

The paper will discuss possible explanations to these findings in terms of e.g. cultural identity, acculturation and gender issues and relate findings to findings found in other European countries.