Examining Immigrant Children’s Mental Health
The existing literature by McClure (2010), Hatzenbuehler (2015), Castañeda (2015), Messias (2014), and colleagues establish that immigration and immigration policy create stressful environments for immigrants that can affect health. To reiterate this point, Messias and colleagues mention, “there are physical and emotional costs to immigrants living under prolonged stress in conditions of poverty and victimization and lacking access to health care and other social services (2014, p. 88). In addition to the literature on immigration, there are several case studies that examine immigrant children’s mental health, which will be enumerated in this section of the literature review.
Children of immigrants,
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born) children live in fear that their parents will be deported or incarcerated for indefinite periods of time, a situation that most non-immigrant children do not have to worry about (Delva et al. 2013, p. 26). Through snowball sampling, Delva and colleagues, interviewed immigrant families with children and or adolescence (both documented and undocumented). The interviews focused on the children and adolescence, interview questions revolved around their daily lives (Delva et al. 2015, p. 28). Additionally, the children and adolescence were asked to rank their anxiety during different activities, to get an index of stress (Delva et al. 2013, p.28). Sampled population was mostly undocumented children, twelve out of twenty of participants, and all participants met at least one clinically significant health risk factor. Factors that were the most common among the participants were, attention issues, withdrawn-depression, anxiety-depression, and behavioral issues, meaning that these children suffer from mental health issues (Delva et al. 2013, p. 29). Correlatively, Brabeck and Hunter (2014) examines the impact of parents’ immigrant status on the children, through an analysis of the existing literature, on immigrant families and children. Brabeck and Hunter (2014) analyze the factors of deportation and undocumented status, examining how they affect children’s health in multiple studies (p. 497-498). Hunter and Brabeck summarize, that these factors interact
This book provided me with a first-hand account of the struggles a growing woman goes through trying to navigate her way through finding friends, dealing with bullies, microaggressions, racism, culturally different parents, feminism, puberty, self-love, and acceptance. Without this book, I would not know the intricacies and complexities that accompany children growing up with immigrant parents in a predominantly white neighborhood. The research I have done has not been as explicit, honest, and raw in the ways Scaachi Koul was able to provide. For example, my research frequently reported that immigration often leads to improved living conditions, but it failed to highlight the emotional and psychological struggles that come with adapting to a new culture. Much of my research has spoken about the positives of coming from immigrating, completely disregarding the struggles thousands of people have gone through and continue to.
Juana Mora in “Acculturation Is Bad for Our Health: Eat More Nopalitos” argues that the United States offers many job and educational opportunities for Latinos, but acculturation in America negatively impacts their health. Mora offers research and statistics, most of which I find compelling, to explain that these illnesses are primarily due to the immigrants’ new “daily habits and environment changes” (Mora 660). After arriving in America, immigrants often live in crime-ridden, low income neighborhoods, rely on fast food, abuse alcohol and tobacco products, and have fewer safe areas for exercise. Additionally, the stress caused “by learning a new language and culture” and “living in new and sometimes dangerous environments” causes illnesses such as post-traumatic
The current study is examining the challenges and resiliencies of Latino immigrant parents. This study will be using a qualitative research design. This qualitative design will be accomplished through the use of face to face and phone interviews. This current study seeks to answer the following questions: What parental challenges do Latino immigrant parents face? What resiliencies do Latino immigrant parents obtain? What resources/services do Latino immigrant parents feel they need? What parenting skills, styles, and/or knowledge have Latino immigrant parents used and were they effective in producing positive child outcomes?
After exploring only some of the many traumatic experiences children and women immigrants might face, it is peculiar only 34% of Latinx immigrant adults, of which 88% are females, and 29% of Latinx immigrant adolescents experienced a traumatic event according to Perreira 2013. The way Perreira, 2013 was conducted might have influenced the results of the study. There was only a total of 281 participants, some of which were adults and the rest were adolescents. This is a really small sample considering the amount of Latinx immigrants living in the United States. In fact, according to a Pew study, in 2015, 42% of the 11.6 million immigrants in the United States were from a Latin American country. Most of the participants in Perreira 2013 were
Undocumented college students have a much higher level of anxiety than the population at large, likely caused by a unique set of challenges they face as a result of their legal. Concern related to finances, fear of deportation and a sense of isolation weigh heavily on undocumented students, according to a study released today from the Institute for Immigration, Globalization and Education at the University of California Los Angeles. In the study of undocumented undergraduates, 28.5 percent of male and 36.7 percent of female participants reported a level of anxiety that was above the clinical cut off for generalized anxiety disorder, which means a moderate or severe level of anxiety. That’s compared to 4 percent and 9 percent from a sample of the general population. The Pew Research Center estimates that there are between 200,000 and 225,000 undocumented immigrants enrolled in college. But research on the
none of subgroups of children fell within category of probable depression when the clinical cut off T-scores (>60) were applied (Kovacs 2003), but children who went back to Mexico when the parent was deported ranked highest in the depression symptoms category, these children were more likely to have emotional problems and negative physical symptoms than children whose undocumented parents were not at risk of being deported or detained. The result also showed that all three groups did fall within the category of probable anxiety disorders. Children whose undocumented parents were not at risk of deportation were more likely to report positive self-concept than children who went back with the parents after being deported. When a parent is detained or deported, the mental health and well-being of the US born child is affected immensely.
Zayas, L. H., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Yoon, H., & Rey, G. N. (2015). The distress of citizen-children with detained and deported parents. Journal Of Child And Family Studies, 24(11), 3213-3223.
Undocumented college students have a much higher level of anxiety than the population at large, likely caused by a unique set of challenges they face as a result of their legal status. Concern related to finances, fear of deportation and a sense of isolation weigh heavily on undocumented students, according to a study released today from the Institute for Immigration, Globalization and Education at the University of California Los Angeles. In the study of undocumented undergraduates, 28.5 percent of male and 36.7 percent of female participants reported a level of anxiety that was above the clinical cut off for generalized anxiety disorder, which means a moderate or severe level of anxiety. That’s compared to 4 percent and 9 percent from a sample of the general population. The Pew Research Center estimates that there are between 200,000 and 225,000 undocumented immigrants enrolled in college. But research on the population is limited largely to students at selective four-year colleges or within specific states, according to the study. Undocumented students, for obvious legal reasons, also are a difficult population to reach. This study consisted of a largely anonymous survey of 909 participants from 34 states. They represented 55 different
The mold for an undocumented family typically consists of at least one if not both parents being undocumented and children who are natural born citizens. Families with mixed legal status have many hardships to face and overcome one of the most prominent and most fear inducing of all: deportation. The risk of one of their loved ones being deported and the chance of never seeing them again in the country is one that haunts millions of not only undocumented immigrants but their children as well. In a recent study conducted on multigenerational punishment Laura Enriquez stated the following, “In particular, scholars have shown how deportation policies impinge on the economic, social, and emotional well-being of family and community members in the United States and the country of origin” (Enriquez 941). Stating that immigration laws and illegal immigration status along with the risk of deportation tear families apart is an understatement; “…deportation threatens immigrant family stability. For fiscal years 2013 and 2014 (“ICE”) removed nearly 368,000 and 441,000 persons, respectively; making the total removed over the course of Obama’s presidency approximately two million” (Enriquez 940). A current web article by Derrick Rubenstein found most opponents argue that “…mass deportation would pay for itself in about four years. Plus, of course,
Mental health is a person’s emotional and physiological well-being; some immigrants come to the country hoping for an easier and happier life, however, this is not always the case. As stated previously in lecture, assimilating to a new language, new food, and different cultural norms can be mentally draining. Experiences like exposure to war, death of loved ones, violence, oppression, and torture will likely make one mentally unstable and further complicates the resettlement process. The process of assimilating into a new cultural is mentally taxing to the soul, you are having to throw away all that you know and create a facade in order to be accepted. In my opinion, refugees and immigrants display poor mental health on arrival due to a combination
There are lots of different types of families in America because of its diversified culture. Children grew up in different families may be influenced by different elements including family, education, community and so on. U.S.-born children with immigrant parents are facing much more challenges from the very beginning of their life than children with American parents. The society which as a whole system includes several layers impactng each other and influenceing children living in it. However, when these children who have immigrant parents grow up, they will become the subject of this society. Their subject value
As said by the co-chair Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard of the Congressional Women’s Working Group on Immigration Reform, “I am deeply concerned about the Trump Administration’s immigration policies and actions… Sacrificing the well-being of children for any purpose is immoral and inhumane. It goes against the fundamental values of our nation and our legacy of treasuring and protecting children.” According to several academic studies, “A child’s risk of having mental health problems like depression, anxiety, and severe psychological distress increases following the detention and/or deportation of a parent. Children with undocumented family members live in fear that they will be taken away—circumstances that can lead to toxic stress which, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, can harm brain development and negatively impact short- and long-term
Writer and civil activist Audre Lorde points out, “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” The world is a made up of differences, which tends to lead to clashing ideas. Along the way of becoming “civilized”, humanity lost its most important idea: we are all one, we are all human. So why does this ancient idea not apply in modern day issues? What exactly happened along the way for one human to not be as entitled as another? The answers to these questions might never be answered, but there can be action done to remediate humanity's errs. One way to remediate is by asking what can be done for a population that is normally
Immigration trauma has different phases, but generally begins years before the individual leaves the country. The person is usually leaving conditions deemed intolerable; poverty, unemployment, and violence, and fear for one's safety are common. The immigrant then has to endure acculturative stress, the loss of social support, and displacement. A recent study asserts that 11% of all immigrant Latinos reported political violence exposure and 76% described additional lifetime traumas (Foster, 2001). Armed with this knowledge, the clinician assessing Mario and Mary would want to screen Mario for trauma,
Over the last quarter of a decade, illegal immigration and enforcement have dominated mainstream policy making (Meisnner, Kerwin, Chishti & Bergeron, 2013). There has been a lot of public debate too, on whether or not the successive governments of the US have been able to effectively address illegal immigration and its enforcement thereof. However, as Meisnner et al. (2013) state, in the wake of the terror attacks of 2001, a paradigm shift appears to have been established, with the enforcement of illegal immigration taking a de facto stance. As such, as Dreby (2012) intimates, the number of immigrants who have been deported or removed from the US since 2001 has risen from 190, 000 to close to 400, 000. Considering the fact that there are more than 11 million illegal immigrants living in America, deportation on such a large scale without a doubt will result in a continuous chain reaction. One such consequence, as The New York University School of Law (2012) states, is that families are inherently broken apart by the removal of a family member. Additionally, there are other psychological and psychosocial impacts on families that are far-reaching. Because of these and many other compelling factors, this paper argues that the US should work to prevent deportations, rather than enforce them.