PSTD Among Latinos: A Case Study

Different sub-groups among the Latino Community possesses varying rates of psychological disorders. A recent study, conducted by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, surveyed those of the Latino and Hispanic Communities in the United States. This study revealed, that generally, 27% of Latinos reported having higher levels of depression. Among the various Latino groups, those having a lower score of 22.3% were those of the Mexican descent and those having a

As of today Latinos counts for approximately 15 percent of the total U.S. population; this figure does not include nearly 4 million residents of the U.S. territory, Puerto Rico (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007). Latinos are the fastest growing population in the United States because of the larger proportion of Latina women of childbearing age, by the year 2020 Latinos are expected to account for nearly one-half of the nation’s population growth (Afable-Munsuz & Brindis, 2006). It is important to consider this specific data, because of Ms. Mann background. It will be important to clearly understand the family background in order to create a treatment culturally sensitive.

In the United States, the Latino community continues to grow at a steady pace and with this increase in population comes a greater complexity in family relations and a unique set of problems. Nowadays, Latino Families feature children who were born in the United States but have at least one foreign-born parent, and also foreign-born children who immigrated to this country. Whether they are first immigrants or second generation, Latino youth deals with different levels of acculturation and the stress that this process brings. Realizing that acculturation plays an important role in the Latino families, a number of studies have examined the negative effects that acculturation stress brings to adolescents and family relationships, including behavioral problems, perceived discrimination, ethnic identity, depression symptoms, and substance abuse.

In the Illness of Exile, it is reported that 90% of refugees suffer from depression, with post-traumatic stress disorder being overserve in approximately 50% (Moorehead,217). These mental illnesses highlighting the importance of addressing these issues before they become more severe. It is the job of clinicians to help address these issues and develop treatment plans that will best benefit the victims. Helping them to come to terms with their new notions of humanity. Clinicians must work diligently to prevent victims from succumbing to helplessness, by helping them accept its personal and social meaning.

Since Indochinese refugees started arriving in the United Sates, the main concern have been voiced about consequences of the war and their experiences on their mental health. There haven’t been any studies that examined the complex relationships between psychological traumatic experiences and depression among Vietnamese Americans. Studies on the mental health status of people after traumatic experiences in war, Nazi concentration camps, and natural disasters found that traumatic social and natural events are related to various forms of psychological problems among the victims (Tran, 1993). Most refugees fled from Vietnam to the United States to get away from the horrifying tragic. According to (Kunz, 1973), refugees are “pushed out of” their country, whereas immigrants are “pulled away from” their homeland. Vietnamese respondents in this study were conceived and grew up amid the war, and a significant number of them were specifically included in battle or invested years in death camps, either in comrade detainment facilities or in refugee camps. While others witnessed violent death of family members, or experienced rape, robbery, or starvation as they escaped from Vietnam.

Refugees experience many traumatic events throughout both their lifetime in their home country and during their trip of refuge. According to an online database by the name of Infobase Learning, “Refugees are at particular risk of developing mental health problems because of the trauma they often experience before and during flight, such as war-related violence, genocide, sexual assault and torture,” (Infobase Learning). By understanding the fact that refugees undergo many harrowing incidents, people may begin to grasp the fact that these events traumatize the refugees making them an unnecessary issue in the United States and other first world countries to deal with. As reported by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 43.8 million adults in the U.S. alone experience a mental illness in a given year. This number is only increasing every year in addition to the growing amount of refugees we accept annually, the United States and other first world countries will be overloaded with the complication of mental health issues. Considering that daily life is already complicated enough, first world countries should not be obligated to accept refugees. These displaced people need not to come first world countries, instead stay in their own home country. If transported to the U.S. or other first world

Canadian refugees (and claimants) are often found with poorer health compared to their immigrant counterparts. Their health status is associated with pre- and post-migration factors affecting both their physical and mental health. The pre-migration factors include environmental, economic, and socio-cultural factors related to when people migrate to Canada.9,10 Many refugees come directly from refugee camps in the developing world and are at greater risk of psychological stress, infectious and non-infectious diseases.10 They also display lower mental health status due to their experiences from their countries, supporting the need for considering refugees’ unique experiences in the provision of support services.11

Aware of the unique challenges experienced by immigrants, Goodman et al. (in press) argue that there is a need for an ecosystemic framework which includes structural and situational sources of trauma in order to better understand how the multiple traumatic experiences

This resonates with the current political situation was created by the current president Donald Trump. When president Trump banned seven Muslims dominantly countries from entering the US on claim people from specific religions impose certain danger to the American people. Many refugee communities have been afraid of speaking out because talking about their political opinion was never an easy task for them so they prefer to be silent and wait for the end result. According to the study from Cook et al. (2015) “PTSD and major depression were the most commonly studied mental health conditions. Even

Migration is a time of stress and while migrants are adjusting to new and unfamiliar environments their vulnerability to stress is heightened. In the Shanghai study examined this week, financial and employment difficulties caused the greatest stress to migrant workers. Many migrants do not seek help for stress or the mental health issues it can cause for various reasons, such as not being able to recognize that they are suffering from stress, in the first place. Migrant workers are also more likely to seek assistance for physical health issues before they seek assistance for mental health issues. This is why support from primary care clinics to address mental health while they serve the population for physical health issues is vital. Many

With the civil war now in its sixth year, almost 14 million people need assistance within Syria, while 6.6 million people are internally displaced with nowhere to call home (Migration Policy Centre, 2016). Internally displaced persons are often left with no choice but to flee their battered country. Forced migration often leads to sickness, family disruption, shattered self-esteem, and mental health problems including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Hassan, Ventevogel, Jefee-Bahloul, Barkil-Oteo, & Kirmayer, 2016). Unfortunately, this is just a short list of consequences. The Syrian refugee crisis is one of the most critical and difficult concerns facing social workers today, in the United States and abroad. Syrian refugees are a vulnerable population that deserves dignity and respect as they escape their war-torn country and seek to find a

According to Ringold (2005), refugees are people, who escape from their country in order to avoid conflicts (e.g., persecution, rape, and war). During their flight, refugees experience multiple of physical injuries and unfortunately, refugees are at higher risk for chronic mental health disorders, specifically posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Posttraumatic stress order is a disorder that is developed from witnessing or experiencing a ghastly experience such as, sexual assault, natural disaster, and life-threatening situations.

“A refugee is a person who has been forced from his or her home and has crossed an international border for safety (U. S. Department of State 2009). These people are normally escaping their native land, in hopes of founding a new, safe, and prosperous home. Once these families or people become settle, they often are face with new challenges. Since the end of World War II, an estimated 42 million refugees in the world have been forcibly uprooted from their country of origin due to fear of persecution in their native country on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion (UNHCR2011). Families are unable to found housing, employment, and healthcare. Refugees rely heavily on Social workers to navigate them throughout this transition. “Each step of the refugee migratory journey has its own unique characteristics and mental health consequences, which require much attention from social work service

Although previous studies have suggested that refugees are prone to developing post-traumatic disorders, but the recent survey focused on the risk of schizophrenia and other psychoses.

A population based review in 23 European nations demonstrated that the predominance rates of depressive disorders are higher for migrant gatherings than the local populace (Missinne, S., Bracke, P.,2012). Despondency and mental ill wellbeing in migrants can be credited to various conceivable elements, for example, mental and natural weakness,