TY - JOUR
T1 - “One Scar Too Many:” The Associations Between Traumatic Events and Psychological Distress Among Undocumented Mexican Immigrants
AU - Garcini, Luz M.
AU - Peña, Juan M.
AU - Gutierrez, Angela P.
AU - Fagundes, Christopher P.
AU - Lemus, Hector
AU - Lindsay, Suzanne
AU - Klonoff, Elizabeth A.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported in part by grants from the Ford Fellowship, the Programa de Investigacion, Migracion y Salud (PIMSA), the Minority Biomedical Research Support Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (5R25GM058906-16), the Training and Mentoring Program at the Institute for Behavioral and Community Health (5R25MD006853-05), and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (DGE-1418062).
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2017 International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
PY - 2017/10
Y1 - 2017/10
N2 - Undocumented immigration often presents with multiple stressors and contextual challenges, which may diminish mental health. This study is the first to provide population-based estimates for the prevalence of traumatic events and its association to clinically significant psychological distress among undocumented Mexican immigrants in the United States. This cross-sectional study used respondent-driven sampling to obtain and analyze data from clinical interviews with 248 undocumented Mexican immigrants residing in high-risk neighborhoods near the California-Mexico border. Overall, 82.7% of participants reported a history of traumatic events, with 47.0% of these meeting the criteria for clinically significant psychological distress. After controlling for relevant covariates, having experienced material deprivation, odds ratio (OR) = 2.26, 95% CI [1.18, 4.31], p =.013, and bodily injury, OR = 2.96, 95% CI [1.50, 5.83], p =.002, and not having a history of deportation, OR = 0.36, 95% CI [0.17, 0.79], p =.011, were associated with clinically significant psychological distress. These results support the need to revisit health and immigration policies and to devise solutions grounded in empirical evidence aimed at preventing the negative effects of trauma and psychological distress in this population.
AB - Undocumented immigration often presents with multiple stressors and contextual challenges, which may diminish mental health. This study is the first to provide population-based estimates for the prevalence of traumatic events and its association to clinically significant psychological distress among undocumented Mexican immigrants in the United States. This cross-sectional study used respondent-driven sampling to obtain and analyze data from clinical interviews with 248 undocumented Mexican immigrants residing in high-risk neighborhoods near the California-Mexico border. Overall, 82.7% of participants reported a history of traumatic events, with 47.0% of these meeting the criteria for clinically significant psychological distress. After controlling for relevant covariates, having experienced material deprivation, odds ratio (OR) = 2.26, 95% CI [1.18, 4.31], p =.013, and bodily injury, OR = 2.96, 95% CI [1.50, 5.83], p =.002, and not having a history of deportation, OR = 0.36, 95% CI [0.17, 0.79], p =.011, were associated with clinically significant psychological distress. These results support the need to revisit health and immigration policies and to devise solutions grounded in empirical evidence aimed at preventing the negative effects of trauma and psychological distress in this population.
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U2 - 10.1002/jts.22216
DO - 10.1002/jts.22216
M3 - Article
C2 - 29077997
AN - SCOPUS:85032388329
VL - 30
SP - 453
EP - 462
JO - Journal of Traumatic Stress
JF - Journal of Traumatic Stress
SN - 0894-9867
IS - 5
ER -