Combinatorial effects of discrimination, legal status fears, adverse childhood experiences, and harsh working conditions among Latino migrant farmworkers: Testing learned helplessness hypotheses.

Abstract

Migrant farmwork is often characterized by harsh working conditions that carry significant physical and mental health consequences. Using a learned helplessness framework, the current study examined the extent to which discrimination, immigration legal status difficulties, and adverse childhood experiences moderated the effects of harsh working conditions on depression and anxiety. The study also examined the extent to which harsh working conditions mediated the effects of discrimination, immigration legal status difficulties, and adverse childhood experiences on depression and anxiety. Participants were 241 migrant farmworkers recruited in the Midwest. Participants completed interviews consisting of the Migrant Farmworker Stress Index (MFWSI), Adverse Childhood Events Scale (ACEs), Everyday Discrimination Scale, the Centers for Epidemiology Scale for Depression (CES-D), and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7). Tests of indirect effects suggested, working conditions mediated the effects of ACEs, immigration legal status fears, and discrimination on CES-D and GAD-7 scores (p values < .05). Higher ACEs and discrimination also appeared to be associated with larger effects of harsh working conditions on depression and anxiety (p values < .05), while legal status fears did not significantly moderate the effect of harsh working conditions on either outcome (p values > .05). Likely through different mechanisms, adverse childhood experiences, discrimination and immigration legal status are associated with higher risk of harsh working conditions and subsequently these conditions account for much of the relations between these 3 stressors with depression and anxiety. Additionally, discrimination and adverse childhood experiences appear to then enhance the effects of working conditions.

Testing Traditional Machismo and the Gender Role Strain Theory With Mexican Migrant Farmworkers

“…Each item was measured on a Likert-type scale from 1 not at all stressful to 4 extremely stressful. Prior work with this sample had suggested that a single factor approach did not adequate fit the data and that a five-item, theoretically driven factor containing only items that specifically reference work conditions provided adequate fit (Andrews et al, 2019).…”

Early Childhood Education Programs as Protective Experiences for Low-Income Latino Children and Their Families

“…This paper synthesizes the research on how participation in early care and education programs might serve as a critical protective factor for Latino children’s development and mitigate their exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Latino populations have been shown to have some of the highest rates of exposure to ACEs (Andrews, Haws, Acosta, Acosta Canchila, Carlo, et al, 2019 ; Ellis & Dietz, 2017 ; Slopen, Shonkoff, Albert, Yoshikawa, Jacobs, Stoltz, et al, 2016 ). To guide the synthesis, a theoretical perspective is described which incorporates the sociocultural and transactional context that must be considered in examining ACEs among Latino children, their families, and ECE programs or providers.…”

“…Job stress and low rates of health insurance among Latinos are found using national data, with only half of US-born Latino fathers and 35% of foreign-born Latino fathers having jobs offering employer-sponsored health insurance (Wildsmith, Ramos-Olazagasti, Alvira-Hammond, 2018 ). In a study of Latino migrant farmworkers, ACEs were related to higher exposure to harsh working conditions, and to larger effects of these harsh working conditions on depression and anxiety symptoms (Andrews et al, 2019 ). Taken together, all these factors create stress and uncertainty, which is a risk to the stability of the family unit and parent’s mental health, which can compromise parents’ ability to buffer their own children from ACEs.…”

“…Using multiple providers may be more costly, and recent estimate shows that while that about 6 in 10 low-income Latino households report using some type of free child care, 4 out of 10 families have costs that exceed 7% of the household budget, which has been cited in recent government guidelines as a reasonable target to spend for ECE (Crosby, Mendez & Barnes, 2019 ). Work-related risk also creates challenges to provide nurturing environments, when adults who were exposed to ACEs now struggle with their own wellbeing (Andrews et al, 2019 ).…”

“…For those studying trauma and ACEs among low-income children, increasing familiarity with the Latino community and factors driving ECE utilization, economic uncertainty, and family instability will be important areas for integration within research studies. Finally, preventative interventions and treatments that can be offered through ECE settings (Berlin et al, 2018 ) or through partnerships with health care delivery systems should be investigated, as Latinos continue to experience incidents of trauma, ongoing discrimination, and other poverty-associated risks (Andrews et al 2019 ; Ramos-Olazagasti et al, 2017 ).…”