Protective Factors to the Wellbeing of Undocumented Latinx Immigrants in the United States: A Socio-Ecological Approach

Sociocultural predictors of immigrant adjustment and well-being

Introduction

Research shows that culture change may pose risks to immigrant wellbeing. Our study examined adult Georgians (N = 431) residing in Greece, Italy, and Germany, and explored associations between their demographic characteristics, sociocultural adjustment, and psychological well-being outcomes.

Methods

Conducted via electronic self-report survey, the cross-sectional study measured participants' levels of sociocultural adjustment, psychological adjustment, and depression along with the willingness to interact with host nationals, perceived sense of discrimination, history of being undocumented, age and length of relocation, and fluency in host language. The study also examined differences in three subsamples from the standpoint of intercultural distance. Sociocultural Adjustment Scale, Brief Psychological Adaptation Scale, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and Host Interaction Scale were used to measure the corresponding variables. Perceived history of discrimination was measured by a Likert-scale question about discrimination in a host country. Intercultural distance was established by Hofstede cultural compass and was estimated to be the smallest with Greece and the largest with Germany.

Results

Depression was positively predicted by histories of discrimination and illegal immigration, host language fluency upon relocation, and was negatively predicted by sociocultural adjustment. Psychological adjustment was positively predicted by sociocultural adjustment, willingness to interact with host nationals, and ongoing language fluency, while perceived sense of discrimination, age, and poor financial state acted as negative predictors. Finally, sociocultural adjustment acted as the strongest determinant of wellbeing predicting both lower depression and higher psychological adjustment.

Discussion

Our findings suggested that adjustment in diverse sociocultural domains was the most critical for the immigrants' psychological well-being along with the lack of perceived discrimination. Additional factors associated with the better adaptation outcomes included younger age, willingness to interact with host nationals, language fluency, better financial standing and no history of being undocumented. The results also indicated that host language proficiency upon relocation may contribute to migrant susceptibility, whereas intercultural distance may be overshadowed in importance by acculturation conditions. The findings illustrate the complexity of migration and culture change and point to the superiority of wholistic policies and practices in promoting smooth transition of immigrant populations.

Dealing with distress from the COVID-19 pandemic: Mental health stressors and coping strategies in vulnerable latinx communities

Distress secondary to the COVID-19 pandemic has been substantial, especially in vulnerable Latinx communities who are carrying an undue share of the pandemic-related social, health and economic burden in the United States. In collaboration with 43 community health workers (CHWs) and Promotor/as serving the needs of underserved Latinx communities in South Texas and guided by principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR), the purpose of this study was to identify relevant mental health stressors and related consequences, and to identify strategies for coping with distress among underserved Latinx communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected on July 2020 using mixed methods to obtain more in-depth information. Surveys were administered, and three focus groups were conducted. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, whereas qualitative data were analysed systematically by starting with a priori questions and themes followed by data categorisation, reduction, display and conclusion drawing. Results showed six themes related to mental health stressors including economics (e.g., job insecurity), immigration (e.g., undocumented status), misinformation, family stress (e.g., changes in family dynamics and the home environment), health (e.g., limited healthcare access) and social isolation. Coping skills of the community were categorised into four themes with multiple codes including behavioural strategies (e.g., identifying reliable information), cognitive strategies (e.g., collectivistic thinking), social support and spirituality. Findings indicate that underserved Latinx communities are dealing with substantial distress and mental health concerns secondary to the COVID-19 pandemic; yet these are resilient communities. Implications of these findings can inform development of resources, interventions, best practices and training avenues to address the mental health needs of underserved Latinx communities, while considering relevant cultural and contextual factors that may influence their effectiveness.

Racism and Poverty are Barriers to the Treatment of Youth Mental Health Concerns

OBJECTIVE

Traditional studies of treatment moderators have focused largely on psychological factors such as clinical severity. Racial and economic inequity exert large effects on youth mental health, on treatment efficacy, and on the likelihood of receiving treatment altogether. Yet, these factors are studied less often by clinical psychological scientists.

METHOD

We conducted a narrative review of literature on racial and economic inequities and their impact on youth mental health.

RESULTS

First, systemic problems such as racism and poverty increase the risk of developing complex health issues and decrease the likelihood of benefiting from treatment. Second, attitudinal barriers, such as mistrust associated with treatments provided by researchers and government agencies, decrease the likelihood that minoritized groups will engage with or benefit from evidence-based treatments. Third, minoritized and underserved communities are especially unlikely to receive evidence-based treatment.

CONCLUSION

Clinical psychological science has unique insights that can help address systemic inequities that can decrease treatment efficacy for youth mental health treatment. Psychological scientists can help eliminate disparities in accessing evidence-based treatment and help end violent policies in underserved minoritized communities by at the very least (1) building and supporting scalable community-based treatments as well as (2) publicly advocating for an end to violent policies that impose negative social costs.