Mental Health Problems Among Immigrants

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

In these detention centers, immigrants are often denied medical care, even if they are very ill, and served poor quality food and drinks. They are treated like criminals, yet have not been charged with criminal offenses (Werner). Since 2003, ninety people have died in immigration custody. Many immigrants in the detention centers are also often neglected lawyers. Oftentimes, people are waiting six months for a twenty-minute asylum interview (Hendricks). As a result of rights not being withheld, immigrants are getting unfair treatment.

According to acculturation theory (Berry et al., 1987), the psychological experience of adapting to a new culture becomes manifested as acculturative stress for children. Acculturation theory identifies how immigrant children’s mental development is hindered as a result of acculturation stress. Acculturation stress that directly results from the acculturative process can appear as mental health problems. Since culture may influence an immigrant child throughout his or her entire life, reducing acculturative stress is important for them to live in the new home country. Understanding the role of acculturation in the lives of immigrants is an essential component to understanding the overall mental health of Asian American immigrant children.

Immigrants have been migrating to the Unites States for years. Many people in the United States have different opinions on immigrants: some are negative and some are positive. Some Americans assume that immigrants are here to destroy the United States, but immigrants are here for many purposes: to support their families, succeed in their future, or to escape violence occurring in their home countries. Many Americans think that once an immigrant has settled in the United States that he or she will right away get a job or quickly learn English. Imagine moving to a new school not knowing a single person. You will feel anxious or even discouraged. Now just imagine arriving in a new country and not knowing anyone and you can’t speak English. Well, that is how millions of young and adult undocumented immigrants feel every day when trying to fit into the American culture. Life is hard for an undocumented immigrant. Immigrants in the United States face many challenges when trying to adapt or assimilate into the American culture. But my question is, what kind of mental health issues or other psychological problems do immigrants face when they are trying to adjust to the American culture, and how can our society alleviate some of that anxiety?

It is no secret that the Native American and Alaska Native (NA/AN) population is one of the most overlooked and underserved communities in America. The physical health disparities that plague NA/ANs (diabetes, tuberculosis, obesity, etc) are well-documented.1 However, less data is readily available on the mental health challenges that NA/AN populations face. Recent news has highlighted the pressing need to study these issues, especially in light of the spike in suicides among youth occurring on NA/AN reservations.2 Furthermore, even less information is available with regards to NA/AN children and the mental health disparities they face, although more literature has been published in the last two decades that provide new insights into this issue.3

According to Shattell et al. (2008), there is a notable discrepancy between Latinos’ that are in need of services and the actual utilization of services. This week’s readings provided much insight as to why Latinos underutilize mental health services. On an individual level one must consider how a person’s belief system will affect treatment. According to Shattell et al. (2008), Latinos often view mental illness as being caused by a curse and other evil spirits. They do not see their symptoms as signs of a mental illness, so in turn they would not seek services. Shattell et al. (2008) further explains that Latinos are often suspicious and guarded about disclosing their symptoms to practitioners. This can prevent a practitioner from providing

Immigration is the means for a individual that is not originally from an area or country to migrate to another area, “the action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country” (Google, 2017). When an individual from a different country migrates into a foreign country they undergo “immediate stressors associated with meeting basic survival needs, losing the familiar, learning English, and meeting the demands of life in a new environment. They also soon face resettlement challenges of cop- ing with cultural change, mobilizing resources to meet their needs, and formulating future life goals” (Timberlake, Faber, Wall, Taylor, Sabatino, 2003) Immigrants usually rely on their spirituality, moral frameworks, culture framework and famility sustaining

Instead of seeking mental health services for emotional or psychological concern, Latinos tend to seek medical care services from a physician. Both (Gelman, 2005; Bedoya, 2014; Organista, 1995) portray Latinos favoring mental health services through primary care than a mental health care setting. Many Latinos misinterpret physical symptoms as a medical illness when, in fact, it may be due to psychological condition. It is not uncommon for Latinos to mainly present mental issues as physical complaints (González-Prendes, Hindo, & Pardo, 2011, p. 380). Similarly Kanter et al. (2008) states, “Depression in Latino immigrants with low acculturation often is characterized somatic complaints with less awareness and identification of psychological symptoms”

Foreign-born citizens are correlated with better academic achievement and mental health in comparison with native-born. The phenomena are widely recognized as immigrant advantage. Many factors influence the advantage foreign-born immigrants experience. Examples of influencing factors are: Family, Bilingualism, Socioeconomic Status, and Education.

According to SIM, various social determinants of health can dictate the presentation and severity of the patient’s illness. The main challenge in delivering effective care of refugee mental health is the complexity and the multi-factorial nature of their suffering. A refugee is identified as someone who was forced to flee his or her country due to traumatic factors such as war, persecution, violence and racism (Moussalli M., 1992). The exposure to these factors instills an overwhelming feeling of fear, submissiveness and vulnerability. As a result, refugees can be at a higher risk of developing debilitating psychological conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety (McKenzie et al., 2010). On the other hand,

In a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, these 81 million residents are responsible for 5% of the labor force of the United States, the same work force that provides wage gains for native born Americans (Greenstone). Even with a prominent population, the struggles of immigrants go unheard. One such struggle that is silent among the voices of the nation are an immigrant’s struggle with mental health, and the limited accessibility to help asylum seekers have available. While it may seem to some that mental health of a non-citizen is not a responsibility of the host nation, it is actually true that the security of health is a right for all regardless of legal status because of the ethical, social and economic responsibilities we hold as a single human race.

There have been a few reports of deaths in deportation centers. Although death is inevitable, some of the deaths that happened between 2003-2015 in deportation centers could have been prevented. Authors Granski, M., Keller, A., & Venters, H. wrote an article Death Rates among detained Immigrants in the United States show that health care provided is not enough, and that’s assuming that they receive it. They presented data that showed 150 deaths in 11 years. Some of those deaths were caused due to lack of proper treatment to patients with cancer, and even mental illness “These concerns have identified gaps in ICE health policies and procedures relating to initial screening of newly arrived detainees, the application of an emergency care

This topic is important to the writer of this paper due to the fact she has been a correctional nurse for ten years and four of those ten years was working in a federal facility where they house Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees. The United States needs a pathway for immigrants to earn citizenship and to strengthen our borders. I believe in immigration reform but with stricter guidelines especially concerning the medical care of incoming immigrants. Approximately 85% of the illegal immigrants brought to this particular federal facility for housing

New immigrants expect and usually face numerous challenges prior to and after arriving at their new home country. A recent comprehensive review of the health of immigrant youth in Canada revealed that immigrant youth experiences stress as they leave familiar settings behind and struggle to acculturate to their new country of residence (Salehi, 2010). Research has shown that immigrant youth have higher rates of mental health issues related to negative migration expeirences. In addition, immgirants are at an increased risk for secondary school dropout as they face greater obstacles compared to native youh in academic success (Anisef, Brown, Phythian, Sweet, & Walters, 2010). Thus, there is a need to aid immigrant youth in its transition and assimilation process to reduce the likelihood of negative

According to George et al (2015) many migrants experience prolonged period of low income and social exclusion. World Health Organisation (WHO) states that a person’s mental health and many common mental health disorder are shaped by social, economic and physical environments and social inequalities. Research points to the effect poverty, unemployment, financial insecurity and economic hardship on psychological health of migrants. Fassil and Burnett (2015) suggest that racial discrimination and immigration process may impact on mental wellbeing of migrant. High risk of homelessness and destitution creates circumstances that further exacerbates the fragile mental health of most