Department of Psychology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
J Trauma Stress. 2023 Jun;36(3):593-604. doi: 10.1002/jts.22929. Epub 2023 Apr 26.
Research examining the effects of traumatic events on undocumented Latinx immigrants often focuses on assessing posttraumatic stress disorder or general psychological distress, which may obscure the field's understanding of how trauma exposure impacts other common mental health disorders (e.g., anxiety, depression). This study sought to assess the cumulative, individual, and timing effects of immigration-related traumatic events on anxiety and depressive symptoms among undocumented Latinx immigrants. Participants were 253 undocumented Latinx immigrants recruited using respondent-driven sampling who reported their history of immigration-related trauma exposure and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Results suggest that cumulative immigration-related trauma was significantly associated with increases in anxiety and depressive symptoms, τ = .26. Significant positive correlations were found for cumulative trauma at each point in the immigration process (i.e., before immigration, while in transit to the United States, and while living in the United States) such that increases in the number of events were associated with higher anxiety and depressive symptom levels, τ = .11-.29. Trauma frequency differed throughout the immigration process such that some events more commonly occurred before immigration or during transit to the United States, whereas others occurred while an individual resided in the United States. Random forest algorithms uncovered differences in the relative importance of individual traumatic events in explaining the variance of depressive, R = .13, and anxiety symptoms, R = .14. The findings highlight the importance of providing trauma-informed care when treating anxiety and depression among undocumented Latinx immigrants and considering multidimensional epidemiological approaches in assessing immigration-related trauma.
研究考察创伤事件对无证拉丁裔移民的影响时，通常侧重于评估创伤后应激障碍或一般心理困扰，这可能会掩盖该领域对创伤暴露如何影响其他常见心理健康障碍（如焦虑、抑郁）的理解。本研究旨在评估与移民相关的创伤性事件对无证拉丁裔移民的焦虑和抑郁症状的累积、个体和时间效应。参与者是 253 名使用响应驱动抽样招募的无证拉丁裔移民，他们报告了自己的移民相关创伤暴露史以及抑郁和焦虑症状。结果表明，累积的移民相关创伤与焦虑和抑郁症状的增加显著相关，τ =.26。在移民过程中的每个点（即移民前、在美国过境期间和在美国生活期间）都发现了累积创伤的显著正相关，即事件数量的增加与更高的焦虑和抑郁症状水平相关，τ =.11-.29。创伤发生的频率在移民过程中有所不同，因此有些事件更常见于移民前或在美国过境期间，而另一些事件则发生在个人居住在美国期间。随机森林算法揭示了个体创伤性事件在解释抑郁、R =.13 和焦虑症状、R =.14 方差方面的相对重要性存在差异。这些发现强调了在治疗无证拉丁裔移民的焦虑和抑郁时提供创伤知情护理的重要性，并考虑在评估与移民相关的创伤时采用多维流行病学方法。
