Examining the Independent Association Between Acculturative Stress and Psychological Distress Among Mexican Immigrants in New York City: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Objective: This study examines the association between acculturative stress and psychological distress among Mexican immigrants living in New York City. It takes account factors such as language barriers, legal status, fear of deportation, and avoidance of social health and human services, and how these factors are implicated in the mental health status of the study population. Design: Study draws from a community-based sample of Mexican American adults from the Social Network of Mexican Americans study recruited from a church-based community center in the Bronx, New York. Eighty Mexican immigrants were included in this analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to display participants' characteristics. Pearson correlation and multiple regressions were run to determine the relationship between acculturative stress and psychological distress, and also with each of the items from the acculturative stress scale. Both scales have been validated among Spanish-speaking Latino immigrants. Results: A significant moderate positive relationship was found between acculturative stress and psychological distress. Within the acculturative stress scale, those items related to language discrimination, evasion of health services, and feeling guilty for leaving family/friends in home country had significant associations with increased psychological distress. Conclusion: The findings support the need for interventions that account for the major stressors associated with being a Mexican immigrant in the United States to prevent psychological distress, especially given the anti-immigration policies.

The impact of hurricane trauma and cultural stress on posttraumatic stress among hurricane Maria survivors relocated to the U.S. mainland.

“…To be sure, these constructs have been examined in depth by an array of scholars in a variety of Latin American migrant populations in the United States (see Andrade et al, 2021; Cobb et al, 2017; Kim et al, 2018). Additionally, work in this area overlaps with research focused on acculturative stress, including language stress (e.g., Cervantes et al, 2019; Verdaguer et al, 2023).…”

Psychological distress and mental health care utilization among Hispanic/Latino survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer

“…Other factors, such as language, nativity, and other familial characteristics are not captured in NHIS and may play a role in the psychological health of Hispanic/ Latino survivors of AYA cancers. While the K6 scale has been widely utilized within the Hispanic/Latino population 38,39 and NHIS has administered it in both English and Spanish as requested, it's important to recognize that potential nuances in psychological distress might be lost in translation between these languages. 40 Despite these limitations, NHIS remains the recommended source of data for monitoring the health status of the US population according to the Healthy People 2030 framework.…”