The Impact of Policy Change on Self-rated Mental Health Among Hispanic and Latino Immigrants
The Impact of Policy Change on Self-rated Mental Health Among Hispanic and Latino Immigrants

Author: Alejandra H. Reyna

Publisher:

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 106

ISBN-13:

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The immigrant paradox theorizes that foreign nativity protects against a host of stressors, such as discrimination and acculturative stress, and negative mental health outcomes in individuals living in a new host country (Burnham Hough, Karno, Escobar, & Telles, 1987). This theory has been used to explain why, despite risk factors, stressors, and challenges immigrants face when moving to a new country, they exhibit lower rates of depressive symptoms and other mental health problems and greater well-being than U.S. born Hispanics and Non-Hispanic Whites (NHW) (Alegria et al., 2007; Garcia-Coll & Marks, 2012; Markides & Coreil, 1986). Current research indicates that the protective nature of this paradox may be limited (Brabeck, Lykes & Hunter, 2014). Additionally, anti-immigrant policies may attenuate the protective effect of the paradox (Hatzenbuehhler et al., 2017). In the present study, we examined the role various factors, such as ethnic identity, acculturative and immigrant stress, discrimination, and citizenship status, play in predicting Hispanic immigrants’ psychological distress and well-being. Participants were recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and self-identified as Hispanic or Latino immigrants aged 18 and older (N = 56) who either reported being U.S. citizens (N = 38) or non-U.S. citizens (N = 17). We found that discrimination and ethnic affiliation emerged as important predictors in Hispanic immigrants’ well-being and distress. Furthermore, the relevance of immigration policy in predicting anxiety, distress, and lower well-being was supported by current findings. Contrary to our hypotheses we did not find that citizenship or acculturation played a significant role in predicting distress or well-being in this sample. These findings raise important and practical implications for those working with and better understanding of Hispanic immigrants. Further results, implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Hispanics and the Future of America
Hispanics and the Future of America

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2006-02-23

Total Pages: 502

ISBN-13: 0309164818

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Hispanics and the Future of America presents details of the complex story of a population that varies in many dimensions, including national origin, immigration status, and generation. The papers in this volume draw on a wide variety of data sources to describe the contours of this population, from the perspectives of history, demography, geography, education, family, employment, economic well-being, health, and political engagement. They provide a rich source of information for researchers, policy makers, and others who want to better understand the fast-growing and diverse population that we call "Hispanic." The current period is a critical one for getting a better understanding of how Hispanics are being shaped by the U.S. experience. This will, in turn, affect the United States and the contours of the Hispanic future remain uncertain. The uncertainties include such issues as whether Hispanics, especially immigrants, improve their educational attainment and fluency in English and thereby improve their economic position; whether growing numbers of foreign-born Hispanics become citizens and achieve empowerment at the ballot box and through elected office; whether impending health problems are successfully averted; and whether Hispanics' geographic dispersal accelerates their spatial and social integration. The papers in this volume provide invaluable information to explore these issues.

Depression in Latinos
Depression in Latinos

Author: Sergio A. Aguilar-Gaxiola

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2009-04-05

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 0387785124

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Depression ranks as a leading mental health problem among Hispanic immigrants and their US-born children. And a wide array of issues - starting with the widespread stereotype of the “illegal immigrant” - makes the Latino experience of this condition differ from that of any other group. Depression in Latinos consolidates the conceptual, diagnostic, and clinical knowledge based on this salient topic, providing coverage from prevalence to prevention, from efficient screening to effective interventions. In this concise yet comprehensive volume, leading clinicians, researchers, and academics offer extensive research and clinical findings, literature reviews (e.g., an in-depth chapter on the Mexican American Prevalence and Services Survey), and insights gathered from first-hand experience in clinical practice. Perceptive information is offered on the most urgent and complex issues on depression in this diverse and dynamic population, including: (1) The impact language, culture, and societal factors have on depression and its diagnosis. (2) The most relevant assessment instruments. (3) How depression manifests among Latino children, youth, and seniors as well as in Latinas. (4) The relationship between depression and substance abuse. (5) The most effective evidence-based treatment methods. (6) The efficacy of interventions for depression at the community level. Depression in Latinos is vital reading for clinicians, counseling and school psychologists, psychiatrists, clinical social workers, and public health professionals interested in providing their Hispanic clients with the most effective treatment possible. In addition, its coverage of the broader issues of access to care makes this volume essential reading for mental health administrators, volunteer/outreach agencies, and policymakers.

Communities in Action
Communities in Action

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2017-04-27

Total Pages: 583

ISBN-13: 0309452961

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In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

Handbook on Positive Development of Minority Children and Youth
Handbook on Positive Development of Minority Children and Youth

Author: Natasha J. Cabrera

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-02-07

Total Pages: 509

ISBN-13: 3319436457

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This Handbook presents current research on children and youth in ethnic minority families. It reflects the development currently taking place in the field of social sciences research to highlight the positive adaptation of minority children and youth. It offers a succinct synthesis of where the field is and where it needs to go. It brings together an international group of leading researchers, and, in view of globalization and increased migration and immigration, it addresses what aspects of children and youth growing in ethnic minority families are universal across contexts and what aspects are more context-specific. The Handbook examines the individual, family, peers, and neighborhood/policy factors that protect children and promote positive adaptation. It examines the factors that support children’s social integration, psychosocial adaptation, and external functioning. Finally, it looks at the mechanisms that explain why social adaptation occurs.

Care Without Coverage
Care Without Coverage

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2002-06-20

Total Pages: 213

ISBN-13: 0309083435

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Many Americans believe that people who lack health insurance somehow get the care they really need. Care Without Coverage examines the real consequences for adults who lack health insurance. The study presents findings in the areas of prevention and screening, cancer, chronic illness, hospital-based care, and general health status. The committee looked at the consequences of being uninsured for people suffering from cancer, diabetes, HIV infection and AIDS, heart and kidney disease, mental illness, traumatic injuries, and heart attacks. It focused on the roughly 30 million-one in seven-working-age Americans without health insurance. This group does not include the population over 65 that is covered by Medicare or the nearly 10 million children who are uninsured in this country. The main findings of the report are that working-age Americans without health insurance are more likely to receive too little medical care and receive it too late; be sicker and die sooner; and receive poorer care when they are in the hospital, even for acute situations like a motor vehicle crash.

Social Work Practice with Latinos
Social Work Practice with Latinos

Author: Rich Furman

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2010-06-15

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780190616496

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Latinos are now the largest ethnic minority population in the United States and still they encounter a great deal of misunderstanding, prejudice, and discrimination. Utilizing a strengths-based perspective, Social Work Practice with Latinos addresses the unique needs of this diverse population. Written by practitioners and scholars from many disciplines, this book discusses social issues of consequence to Latinos and specific strengths and risk factors of the Latino community. They then offer methods that utilize these strengths to ensure a culturally-competent approach to practice with Latino populations. Each chapter is accompanied by key questions for personal and group reflection to facilitate discussion and understanding of these vital themes. The editors have nearly three decades of combined experience working with Latino populations inside and outside the United States. Drawing on this experience, they integrate these varied perspectives to prepare students and practitioners for practice with this richly diverse community.

Aging, Health, and Longevity in the Mexican-Origin Population
Aging, Health, and Longevity in the Mexican-Origin Population

Author: Jacqueline L. Angel

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-02-08

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 1461418674

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Aging, Health, and Longevity in the Mexican-Origin Population creates a foundation for an interdisciplinary discussion of the trajectory of disability and long-term care for older people of Mexican-origin from a bi-national perspective. Although the literature on Latino elders in the United States is growing, few of these studies or publications offer the breadth and depth contained in this book.