The quest for recognition: Brazilian immigrants in the United States

Brazilian immigrants in the United States and mental health: An integrative review

BACKGROUND

Brazilian immigrants are becoming a more visible minority and, although different from other Latinos (in a linguistic, cultural, historical, and ethnic sense), are usually either counted as Latinos, not included in the Latino samples or simply overlooked in research studies. It is essential to understand the stress and pressures they undergo and appreciate their singular perspective and culturally-infused experiences to meet their needs and improve their mental healthcare and quality of life in the United States.

AIM

The aim of this review is to understand and describe the experience of Brazilian immigrants in the U.S., related to mental health, assessing what studies have addressed and what is still needing to be researched.

METHOD

We carried out an integrative review of peer-reviewed articles published between 2011 and 2022 using PychInfo, PubMed, and Proquest, addressing mental health of Brazilian immigrants in the United States.

RESULTS

A total of 10 articles were included revealing the interest of a variety of fields and uncovering three themes: (1) mental healthcare needs (especially warmth and understanding of culture), (2) common sources of support and stress in the community and work, and (3) Socioeconomic aspects related to their mental health, including discrimination, work-life balance, neighborhood cohesion, and acculturation.

CONCLUSIONS

Results may be useful to practitioners, researchers, and policy makers, who should be attentive to client's familiarity with the English language, their sources of support, spirituality, specific Brazilian traits, their feeling of 'being invisible', life in community, and their previous experiences with healthcare in Brazil.

"New White Ethnics" or "New Latinos"?: Hispanic/Latino Pan-Ethnicity and Ancestry Reporting among South American Immigrants to the United States

This article explores the identification patterns of South American immigrants to the United States, as measured via Hispanic/Latino ethnicity and ancestry reporting on the US Census. Using data from the 2006-2010 and 2011-2015 American Community Survey, my analysis reveals four main findings. First, I show significant heterogeneity in identity patterns and in sociodemographic, immigration, and geographic characteristics between South American and Mexican immigrants in the United States. Second, I find that Southern Cone immigrants do not report Hispanic/Latino ethnicity and "birth-country" ancestry (ancestry that is concordant with birth country, such as Colombian or Chilean) to a greater extent than Andean immigrants, in favor of reporting more distal "ancestral-origin" ancestries (i.e., Spanish, Japanese, etc.). Third, I show that those immigrants who do report Hispanic/Latino ethnicity are more likely to report "birth-country" ancestry than "ancestral-origin" ancestry, net of other factors. Finally, my analysis demonstrates that Brazilian immigrants chart a different path of identification among South American immigrants and almost unanimously do not report Hispanic/Latino ethnicity while overwhelmingly reporting "Brazilian" ancestry. Taken together, variation in Hispanic/Latino ethnicity and ancestry reporting across South American immigrant groups has implications for their incorporation into US society, as well as for the degree to which these immigrants see themselves as racialized actors in the United States. Some South American immigrant groups (Southern Cone immigrants) appear to be incorporating as "New White ethnics," and others (Andean immigrants) appear to be incorporating as "New Latinos." Researchers of international migration should carefully consider these identification differences and their implications for the measurement and study of "Hispanic/Latino" immigrants and their descendants in the United States.

Health behavior change benefits: Perspectives of Latinos with serious mental illness

The objective of this study was to explore the perceived benefits of engaging in health behavior change from the viewpoint of overweight and obese Latinos with severe mental illness (SMI) enrolled in the U.S. Qualitative, semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 obese Latinos with SMI who were enrolled in a randomized trial evaluating the effectiveness of a motivational health promotion intervention adapted for persons with SMI. Overweight and obese Latino participants believed that engaging in health behavior change would have both physical and mental health benefits, including chronic disease management, changes in weight and body composition, and increased self-esteem. Interventions that explicitly link physical activity and healthy eating to improvements in mental health and well-being may motivate Latinos with SMI to adopt health behavior change.

"Which box should I check?": examining standard check box approaches to measuring race and ethnicity

OBJECTIVE

This study examined methodological concerns with standard approaches to measuring race and ethnicity using the federally defined race and ethnicity categories, as utilized in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded research.

DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING

Surveys were administered to 219 economically disadvantaged, racially and ethnically diverse participants at Boston Women Infants and Children (WIC) clinics during 2010.

STUDY DESIGN

We examined missingness and misclassification in responses to the closed-ended NIH measure of race and ethnicity compared with open-ended measures of self-identified race and ethnicity.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

Rates of missingness were 26 and 43 percent for NIH race and ethnicity items, respectively, compared with 11 and 18 percent for open-ended responses. NIH race responses matched racial self-identification in only 44 percent of cases. Missingness and misclassification were disproportionately higher for self-identified Latina(o)s, African-Americans, and Cape Verdeans. Race, but not ethnicity, was more often missing for immigrant versus mainland U.S.-born respondents. Results also indicated that ethnicity for Hispanic/Latina(o)s is more complex than captured in this measure.

CONCLUSIONS

The NIH's current race and ethnicity measure demonstrated poor differentiation of race and ethnicity, restricted response options, and lack of an inclusive ethnicity question. Separating race and ethnicity and providing respondents with adequate flexibility to identify themselves both racially and ethnically may improve valid operationalization.

Para pensar las redes transnacionales: itinerarios e historias migratorias de los capoeiristas brasileños en Madrid

El presente artículo recupera los movimientos migratorios de tres líderes brasileños de la capoeira hasta su llegada a la capital española, ilustrando la dinámica de sociabilidad que nace de estas historias personales, pero que al mismo tiempo las supera para dar origen a una red migrante transnacional. Para alcanzar este objetivo, partimos de una discusión sintética sobre el concepto de transnacionalismo y de redes migrantes transnacionales. A continuación, ubicaremos las particularidades de las migraciones brasileñas hacia el sur europeo, y definiremos -a partir de las historias de vida de los capoeiristas- las especificidades de las redes de la capoeira en la ciudad de Madrid. Por último, en las consideraciones finales, sintetizamos nuestras conclusiones y apuntamos las cuestiones abiertas por el estudio.

Health profile of Brazilian mothers in Massachusetts in the twenty-first century

This paper describes the health profile of Brazilian mothers in Massachusetts according to data collected through Massachusetts Standard Certificate of Live Births (1989 revision) filed with the Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics during 1999 and 2009. To our knowledge this is the first time that such information is reviewed with a focus on Brazilian immigrants. The findings of this article suggests that Brazilian mothers who gave birth in Massachusetts between 1999 and 2009 fared better than all mothers in Massachusetts in most obstetric health indicators considered.

Retention in medical care and antiretroviral treatment according to skin color in southern Brazil

The aim of this study was to compare the retention in medical care and antiretroviral (ARV) treatment of individuals living with HIV and AIDS to antiretroviral therapy in southern Brazil according to their "race" or skin color. This study is part of a 225-day prospective trial, comprising 7 interviews, in which an intervention designed to improve adherence to treatment was tested. A convenience sample of 73 individuals living with HIV and/or AIDS enrolled in this follow-up procedure. The mean length of continuance in treatment was 161.5 (standard deviation [SD] = 18.6; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 125-198) and 138.4 (SD = 14.1; 95% C.I. = 111-166) days in the "nonwhite" and "white" categories, respectively. There was no significant difference between the 2 categories, χ(2)(1, n = 72) = 0.76, P = .38, which include similar levels of retention in medical care and treatment with ARV medications between groups of individuals categorized as white and nonwhite in this sample.

Estereotipos, identidades, y nichos económicos de las migrantes brasileñas en Madrid

Las mujeres componen el 65% de la inmigración brasileña en España. Esta feminización del flujo migratorio se vincula a la transformación de las relaciones de género vividas por estas mujeres en Brasil y en la sociedad de acogida. En Madrid, observamos una gran cantidad de negocios regentados por brasileñas - pequeños emprendimientos del campo de la hostelería o de estética y belleza. Sin embargo, ellas son más comúnmente empleadas en sectores no calificados con baja remuneración - en general relacionados a los servicios domésticos y al cuidado de niños y ancianos y la prostitución - , siendo en muchos casos asociadas a un estereotipo de hipersexualidad que influencia los nichos económicos a los que pueden o no acceder. El presente artículo analiza el rol económico que estas mujeres ocupan, y el conjunto de estereotipos raciales/nacionales con los cuales dialogan para lograr construir su inserción económica en España.

Validation of a screening instrument for postpartum depression in Southern Brazil

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this investigation was to assess the prevalence of postpartum depression in a sample of 101 women and to validate a Portuguese version of the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (PDSS) in Southern Brazil.

METHODS

Research volunteers completed the PDSS and underwent an assessment based on the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV disorders (SCID). Parameters under investigation included the demographic characteristics of the sample, internal structure, and discriminant validity.

RESULTS

All questions in the Portuguese version of the PDSS attained significant Cronbach's alpha of 0.62. The factorial analysis of the Portuguese version of PDSS identified one principal factor that contributed 38.8% of the variance. The best cut-off score for the Portuguese version of the PDSS was a score of 81, which accounted for a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 72% in this sample.

CONCLUSIONS

The Portuguese version of the PDSS demonstrated sound psychometric properties. The results of the factorial analysis also demonstrated that the Portuguese version of the PDSS assesses postpartum depressive disorders in a coherent and integrated manner. The original English version of the PDSS was successfully adapted to Portuguese.