Associations of Poor Housing with Mental Health Among North Carolina Latino Migrant Farmworkers

Abstract

This analysis examines the associations of housing conditions with mental health among migrant farmworkers. Data are from a 2010 cross-sectional study conducted in 16 North Carolina counties. Interviews and housing inspections were completed with 371 farmworkers in 186 camps. Mental health measures included depression (Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression, CES-D), anxiety (Personality Assessment Inventory, PAI), and alcohol misuse (AUDIT-C). Housing measures were number of people per sleeping room, perceived security of self and belongings, having a key to dwelling’s door, having bedroom storage, toilet privacy issues, and number of housing regulation violations. Sixty (16.7%) participants had substantial depressive symptoms (CES-D≥10), 31 (8.8%) had substantial anxiety (PAI ≥27), and 185 (50.1%) had the potential for alcohol misuse (AUDIT-C≥4). Those with 5+ persons sleeping per room were more likely to have a depression score ≥10 (31.5% vs.13–14%, p=.01), and an anxiety scores ≥27 (19.6% vs. 5–9%, p=.02). Those who did not feel they or their belongings were secure were more likely to have a depression score ≥10 (19.4% vs. 9.1%, p=.01). Those without a key were more likely to have an anxiety score ≥27 (11.5% vs. 5.1%, p=.04). Those with no bedroom storage were more likely to have a depression score ≥10 (28.9% vs. 14.9%, p=.03). This paper suggests links between poor housing and farmworkers’ mental health. These results inform regulations surrounding farmworker housing and inform healthcare providers on how to prevent and treat poor mental health among migrant farmworkers.

Key Risk Factors Affecting Farmers’ Mental Health: A Systematic Review

“…Several other risk factors and symptoms predictive of psychological distress in farmers have been identified by researchers, such as government policies [5,17,18,22,67,77], isolation [9,17,18,37,163], heavy workload [7,37], role conflict [7,16], time pressure [7,67,79], poor housing conditions [11,22,32,66], foot and mouth disease among livestock [57,61,80,164], coal and gas development [165,166], beef crisis [167,168], lower levels of mindfulness and farmers’ work ability [78]. Overall these risk factors were stated in almost 42% of the identified studies on farmers’ mental health.…”

“…Farming is associated with a range of physical and mental health risks because of the hard work under challenging conditions [2]. Studies on mental health in farming communities around the world have identified several common risk factors, namely: commodity prices, debt, climate change, drought, overwork, government regulations, isolation, role conflict, time pressure, and poor housing [5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26].…”

Migrant Workers and Psychological Health: A Systematic Review

“…Mora wanted to emphasize how depressive and anxious symptoms can lead to more alcohol or tobacco abuse; in fact, in this study among 370 farmworkers, 16.7% participants had substantial depressive symptoms (CES-D ≥ 10), 8.8% had substantial anxiety (PAI ≥ 27), and 50.1% had the potential for alcohol misuse (AUDIT-C ≥ 4). There was, however, a significant association between high depression scores and alcohol misuse, 21% of those that had a CES-D score of 10 or greater also had a score of 4 or greater in the Audit test (p = 0.02) [63].…”

Isolation and Fear of Deportation: Intersectional Barriers to Well‐Being Among Latina Farmworkers in Southwestern Idaho

“…This is in part because barracks‐style housing is more likely be been hidden from the public’s view (Summers et al 2015, 2572). A poor housing situation for farmworkers can negatively affect their well‐being (Arcury et al 2012) and mental health (Mora et al 2016b). Examining housing‐related struggles sheds light on the structural vulnerabilities facing farmworkers (Summers et al 2015).…”