Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico.
University of Pennsylvania, USA.
Soc Sci Med. 2018 Dec;219:1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.09.064. Epub 2018 Oct 9.
Latino immigrants have been shown to average better health and longevity than native whites, in spite of their relative socioeconomic disadvantage. However, mental health outcomes stand in stark contrast to this epidemiological "paradox," as factors such as depression are significantly higher for Latino immigrants than other groups.
We explore the link between migration and depressive feelings using a binational random survey of Mexicans in Durham, NC and sending communities in Mexico.
Explanations for the link between migration and depression, such as acculturative stress, lack of social support, and powerlessness and isolation, are analyzed by comparing results for protective vs. risk factors between residents of Mexico and Durham, and among immigrants themselves. Besides, selection hypothesis is explored using propensity matching scores.
Results show little support for selection as an important source of migrant depression, and instead provide strong evidence that migration itself, and the disruption of social networks that it entails, is primarily responsible for the association. Family separation, in particular, is the strongest predictor of depressive feelings and accounts for a sizeable portion of the heightened depression among migrants.
Understanding the subjective experiences of migration is necessary to better integrate newcomers into host societies.
尽管拉丁裔移民在社会经济方面处于相对劣势，但他们的健康状况和预期寿命却优于本土白人。然而，心理健康状况与这种流行病学“悖论”形成鲜明对比，因为与其他群体相比，拉丁裔移民的抑郁等因素明显更高。
我们通过对北卡罗来纳州达勒姆的墨西哥人和墨西哥原籍社区的跨国随机调查，探讨移民与抑郁情绪之间的联系。
通过比较墨西哥和达勒姆居民以及移民自身之间的保护因素与风险因素，分析导致移民与抑郁之间联系的解释因素，如文化适应压力、社会支持不足、无力感和孤立感。此外，还使用倾向评分匹配分数来探讨选择假设。
结果几乎没有支持选择是移民抑郁的重要来源这一假设，而是有力地证明了移民本身及其所带来的社交网络的中断是导致这种关联的主要原因。特别是家庭分离，是抑郁情绪的最强预测因素，也是移民中抑郁情绪升高的主要原因。
了解移民的主观体验对于更好地将新移民融入东道社会是必要的。
