Impact of immigrant-related stress on mental health among Mexican-origin families: Implications for a shifting and complex immigration climate.

OBJECTIVES: Latinx immigrant families may face stressful experiences premigration, en route to the host country, and once they arrive in the host country (postmigration). The present study examines the impact of premigration stress and postmigration stress (together defined as immigrant-related stress) on the mental health of Mexican-origin parents and their children using both cross-sectional and longitudinal methodology. METHOD: Data collection across four timepoints occurred from 2013 to 2018. At Time 1, 104 families were enrolled in the study and met the following criteria: (1) At least one Mexican-origin immigrant parent; (2) One child between the ages of 6-10 years; and (3) Family income at or below 150% of the federal poverty line. RESULTS: Hierarchical multiple regression and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) were used to analyze the cross-sectional and longitudinal data, respectively. HLM models revealed that higher postmigration stress over time (2013-2018) was related to higher mental health problems among parents and children. Higher premigration stress was associated with higher parent-reported child mental health problems, while postmigration stress was associated with higher parent mental health problems. Specifically, discrimination emerged as a salient factor of poor parent mental health. Immigrant-related stress was related to higher total parent and child mental health problems. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the strong impact of postmigration stress on mental health over the span of several years and during a time of heightened stress for many Mexican immigrant communities. The results inform the need for family-wide interventions that address the complexities of immigrant-related stress as well as comprehensive policy changes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Systems of Oppression: The Impact of Discrimination on Latinx Immigrant Adolescents' Well-Being and Development.

With over 400 harmful immigration policy changes in the past 4 years, Latinx adolescents and families nationwide are developing within a context of extreme anti-immigrant sentiment (Dismantling and reconstructing the U.S. immigration system: A catalog of changes under the Trump presidency, Migration Policy Institute, 2020). This paper introduces the Multitiered Model of Oppression and Discrimination (MMOD), a conceptual model for understanding the impacts of multiple levels of discrimination on the well-being and development of Latinx immigrant adolescents. Interpersonal discrimination (Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 2010, 32, 259), community-held stereotypes (Social Psychology of Education, 2001, 5, 201), institutional policies (Children and Youth Services Review, 2018, 87, 192), and structural practices (Journal of Criminal Justice, 2020, 66, 1) can negatively impact well-being and development among these adolescents. Culturally sustaining interventions, civic engagement and mobilization, and policies targeting inequitable policies and practices will provide healing and an avenue for liberation.

The structural violence of DACA and youth resistance.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined how youth who have received Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) experience structural violence and their responses to that violence. METHOD: Participants included 20 Latinx individuals, between the ages of 16 and 29, who migrated to the U.S. before age 16. The majority held DACA status. In-depth qualitative, narrative interviews were conducted with each participant. RESULTS: Narratives revealed multiple ways that DACA youth experience structural violence, including (a) challenges with the application process, (b) the financial burden created by the lack of access to federal financial aid for higher education, and (c) fears surrounding DACA. Youth responded to structural violence via (a) paying it forward, (b) radical hope, (c) social support, and (d) undocumented pride. CONCLUSIONS: Narratives demonstrate the ways in which young people experience structural violence despite the benefits of DACA and how some resist this violence. Implications for a legislative pathway to citizenship are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Implementing the Bounce Back trauma intervention in urban elementary schools: A real-world replication trial.

The current study provides the first replication trial of Bounce Back, a school-based intervention for elementary students exposed to trauma, in a different school district and geographical area. Participants in this study were 52 1st through 4th graders (Mage = 7.76 years; 65% male) who were predominately Latino (82%). Schools were randomly assigned to immediate treatment or waitlist control. Differential treatment effects (Time × Group Interaction) were found for child-reported posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and parent-reported child coping, indicating that the immediate treatment group showed greater reductions in PTSD and improvements in coping compared with the delayed group. Differential treatment effects were not significant for depression or anxiety. Significant maintenance effects were found for both child-reported PTSD and depression as well as parent-reported PTSD and coping for the immediate treatment group at follow-up. Significant treatment effects were also found in the delayed treatment group, showing reductions in child-reported PTSD, depression, and anxiety as well as parent-reported depression and coping upon receiving treatment. In conclusion, the current study suggests that Bounce Back is an effective intervention for reducing PTSD symptoms and improving coping skills, even among a sample experiencing high levels of trauma and other ongoing stressors. (PsycINFO Database Record

Immigration policy, practices, and procedures: The impact on the mental health of Mexican and Central American youth and families.

Currently, 15 million Mexican and Central American individuals live in the United States, with this number projected to rise in the next few decades (Lesser & Batalova, 2017; Zong & Batalova, 2017). Research has begun to investigate the impact of the nation's immigration practices and policies on immigrant Latino/a families and youth. Current immigration policies can create vulnerabilities, including fear and mistrust, discrimination, limited access to services, parent-child separation, and poverty. These experiences increase risk for poor mental health outcomes and may exacerbate prior exposure to traumas in the home country (e.g., violence) and during migration (e.g., extortion). This paper reviews current immigration policies for arriving Mexican and Central American immigrants and links to mental health among documented and undocumented immigrant families and youth. A discussion of positive policies and resources that may mitigate the damaging impact of immigration-related stress is included. Finally, social justice implications for clinicians and researchers are discussed, with culturally sensitive interventions, advocacy, and dissemination of research and policy as primary recommendations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Stress and cultural resilience among low-income Latino adolescents: Impact on daily mood.

OBJECTIVES: Given that Latino adolescents endorse more negative mood when compared to their counterparts of other backgrounds (Kann et al., 2016), it is important to evaluate the impact of risk and resilience factors on negative mood among this population. The current study uses daily diary methodology to examine the associations that daily economic stress, daily family stress, familism, and ethnic identity commitment and exploration have with average daily negative mood and variability in daily negative mood. METHODS: Participants included 58 (M = 13.31, 47% female) low-income Latino adolescents who completed study measures over a 1-week period along with a baseline assessment. RESULTS: Results show that daily family stress was strongly linked to daily negative mood, whereas familism emerged as a salient resilience factor. Contrary to predictions, ethnic identity commitment appeared to be detrimental for youth's daily negative mood; furthermore, ethnic identity exploration was found to exacerbate daily negative mood when youth were experiencing high economic stress. However, youth with stronger identities also had less variability in negative mood, specifically when experiencing high family stress. CONCLUSIONS: Although results of this study suggest familism is a key promotive factor, ethnic identity may increase vulnerability in stressful contexts. Thus, programs should build adaptive coping in order for youth with stronger ethnic identities to be prepared to deal with the harmful societal climate they reside in. (PsycINFO Database Record

Stress, Coping, and Mood Among Latino Adolescents: A Daily Diary Study.

The current study examines whether daily coping moderates the effects of daily stress on same-day mood and next-day mood among 58 Latino adolescents (Mage  = 13.31; 53% male). The daily diary design capitalized on repeated measurements, boosting power to detect effects and allowing for a robust understanding of the day-to-day experiences of Latino adolescents. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that on days when youth reported higher levels of peer and academic stress, they also reported more negative moods. However, only poverty-related stress predicted mood the following day. Engagement coping buffered the effect of poverty-related stress on next-day negative and positive mood, while disengagement exacerbated the effects of academic and peer stress. The need for interventions promoting balanced coping repertoires is discussed.