Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine.
Latino Health Access.
Psychol Trauma. 2024 Aug;16(Suppl 2):S349-S359. doi: 10.1037/tra0001351. Epub 2022 Sep 8.
Exponential increases in deportation and negative public discourse have resulted in heightened fears of profiling and deportation among Latinx immigrant families in the United States. Deportation fears could compound the inequalities Latinx families face, worsening mental and behavioral health. To better understand the mental health consequences of the climate of deportation concerns among low-income Latinx mothers in the United States, we conducted a linguistic analysis of interviews of Latinx mothers' parenting experiences, examining their use of words related to deportation fears (e.g., ). We examined the interaction of sociodemographic risk with maternal deportation fears in predicting maternal and youth mental health.
Recent immigrant Latinx mothers ( = 160) and youth ( = 12.88, = 1.73) completed the Parent Development Interview-Revised (Slade et al., 2004), analyzed using a deportation fears custom dictionary (Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count; Pennebaker et al., 2003). Mothers completed the Brief Symptom Inventory (Derogatis, 2001); youth completed the Youth Self-Report (Achenbach, 1991). Cumulative sociodemographic risk was assessed using a composite score of six risk variables.
Regressions revealed significant Sociodemographic Risk × Deportation Fear interactions for maternal depression ( = .01) and youth depression ( < .01) but not for maternal anxiety, youth anxiety, or aggression. As sociodemographic risk increased, associations between deportation fears and psychopathology decreased.
The adverse impact of maternal deportation fears on mental health is visible only when demographic stress is lower. Deportation fears may increase mental health risk, potentially reducing treatment seeking among families previously at lower risk. Findings underscore the importance of policy and sociocultural shifts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
驱逐出境的数量呈指数级增长，负面的公众言论导致美国拉丁裔移民家庭对被甄别和被驱逐出境的恐惧加剧。驱逐出境的恐惧可能会加剧拉丁裔家庭面临的不平等，从而导致他们的心理健康和行为健康状况恶化。为了更好地了解美国贫困的拉丁裔母亲对驱逐出境担忧的氛围对其心理健康的影响，我们对拉丁裔母亲的育儿经历进行了语言分析，考察了她们使用与驱逐出境恐惧相关的词汇（例如）的情况。我们考察了社会人口风险与母亲的驱逐出境恐惧之间的相互作用，以预测母亲和青少年的心理健康。
最近移民到美国的拉丁裔母亲（=160）及其子女（=12.88，=1.73）完成了父母发展访谈修订版（Slade 等人，2004），使用驱逐出境恐惧自定义词典（Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count；Pennebaker 等人，2003）进行分析。母亲完成了简明症状量表（Derogatis，2001）；青少年完成了青少年自我报告（Achenbach，1991）。使用六个风险变量的综合得分评估累积社会人口风险。
回归分析显示，母亲抑郁（=0.01）和青少年抑郁（<0.01）的社会人口风险与驱逐出境恐惧的交互作用显著，但母亲焦虑、青少年焦虑或攻击性的交互作用不显著。随着社会人口风险的增加，驱逐出境恐惧与精神病理学之间的关联减弱。
只有在人口统计学压力较低时，母亲的驱逐出境恐惧对心理健康的不利影响才会显现。驱逐出境的恐惧可能会增加心理健康风险，从而减少以前风险较低的家庭寻求治疗的机会。研究结果强调了政策和社会文化转变的重要性。
