Anxiety among Central American Migrants in Mexico: A Cumulative Vulnerability

Abstract

Migration exposes Central American migrants, particularly those who migrate without documents, to a range of incidents, dangers, and risks that increase their vulnerability to anxiety symptoms. In most cases, the poverty, conflict, and violence they experience in their countries of origin are compounded by the unpredictable conditions of their journey through Mexico. The objective of this study was to explore the association between the presence of emotional discomfort and the experience of various vulnerabilities from the perspective of a group of Central American migrants in transit through Mexico. This is a descriptive, mixed-methods study (QUALI-QUAN). During the qualitative phase, thirty-five migrants were interviewed (twenty in Mexico City and six in Tijuana). During the quantitative phase, a questionnaire was administered to 217 migrants in shelters in Tijuana. An analysis of the subjects’ accounts yielded various factors associated with stress and anxiety, which were divided into five main groups: (1) precarious conditions during the journey through Mexico, (2) rejection and abuse due to their identity, (3) abuse by Mexican authorities, (4) violence by criminal organizations, and (5) waiting time before being able to continue their journey. The interaction of various vulnerabilities predisposes individuals to present emotional discomfort, such as anxiety. Migrants who reported experiencing three or more vulnerabilities presented the highest percentages of anxiety symptoms.

Prevalence of physical violence against people in insecure migration status: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Four of the included studies did include female and male participants although were heavily biased towards male participants [ 74 , 75 , 84 , 91 ]. Only three studies reported gender as a non-binary category [ 69 , 85 , 91 ]. While Couture-Carron et al [ 92 ] met the inclusion criteria, because experience of violence was part of the inclusion criteria for that study, and all participants were in insecure status, it could not be included in the prevalence estimation.…”

“…We collected data on violence occurring in 44 different countries, grouped by region: Europe [ 22 , 62 , 65 , 68 , 81 , 91 ]; North America [ 64 , 67 , 69 , 72 , 74 , 75 , 78 , 80 , 82 , 85 ]; Asia [ 31 , 76 , 87 ]; and Africa [ 70 , 71 , 77 , 84 , 86 , 88 ]. Twenty-five of the included reports measured violence in a single country [ 64 , 65 , 67 , 69 , 70 – 72 , 74 , 75 , 77 , 78 , 81 , 82 , 84 – 89 , 91 , 93 , 94 ].…”

“…Studies measured insecure immigration status in a number of different ways. These included ‘undocumented’ [ 22 , 64 – 67 , 69 , 72 , 74 , 75 , 77 , 80 – 82 , 85 , 89 ], ‘refugee /asylum seeker’ [ 62 , 63 , 68 , 70 , 71 , 73 , 83 , 84 , 86 – 88 , 90 , 91 ], ‘spousal /family visa’, ‘employment related’ [ 31 , 76 , 79 ]. Two studies measured more than one status but sufficiently disaggregated the data to allow for insecure status to be verified [ 78 ].…”

“…Most of the studies reported exclusively binary gender categories, or reported only on a single gender. Only three studies reported non-binary gender categories [ 69 , 85 , 91 ]. The prevalence of physical violence estimate for men (35.30%, 95% CI 18.45–52.15, p < .00) was not significantly different from the estimate for women (27.78%, 95% CI 21.42–34.15, p < .00) [ Fig 3 ], although the confidence intervals overlap.…”