Perceived discrimination and posttraumatic stress disorder among Venezuelan migrants in Colombia and the United States: The moderating effect of gender.

Abstract

Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to examine the association between perceived discrimination and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) outcomes among recently arrived Venezuelan parents in Florida and Colombia. The secondary aim was to determine whether, given the existence of an association between perceived discrimination and PTSD, this association may have been moderated by gender or by country of relocation. This is the first study to examine perceived discrimination and PTSD in Venezuelan migrants. Method: In October 2017, 647 Venezuelan migrant parents (62% female, average age 33) participated in an online survey in the United States (primarily Florida) and Colombia (Bogotá). The survey was cross-sectional and assessed mental health outcomes, perceived discrimination, and participant demographics. Results: There was a significant positive association between discrimination and PTSD outcomes when controlling for age, college completion, marital status, and recency of arrival (β = .25, p < .001). Further, this relationship was moderated by gender, with the relationships of discrimination with PTSD symptom severity (β = .26, p < .001) and likelihood of a positive PTSD screen (OR = 1.07, 95% confidence interval [1.04, 1.09], p < .001) both reaching significance for women but not for men. Conclusions: Perceived discrimination is an important factor when considering mental health outcomes among Venezuelans in the United States and in Colombia. Further, our findings suggest the presence of gender differences in the relationship between discrimination and PTSD.

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

“…Whereas prior research has documented the deleterious effect of migration-related cultural stress on behavioral health in general and PTSD in particular (S. J. Schwartz et al, 2018; Vos et al, 2022), fewer studies have done so while accounting for exposure to natural disasters or severe premigration trauma (LeMaster et al, 2018). These findings not only shed light on the experiences of Puerto Rican Maria migrants; they also raise questions as to the impact of cultural stressors among other Latin American immigrant groups exposed to high levels of stress or trauma in their premigration contexts—that is, crisis migrants relocated after Venezuela’s inflationary/social crises or El Salvador’s crises related to gang violence (Salas-Wright et al, 2022).…”

“…Although Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, prior research has made clear that, upon relocation to the mainland, many island-born Puerto Ricans experience interpersonal and social marginalization on the basis of their Hispanic identity and, in many cases, due to limited or nonnative English proficiency (Aranda & Rivera, 2016; Szalacha et al, 2003). Rooted in cultural stress theory, prior research has found that exposure to migration-related cultural stressors is related to psychological distress and specifically to PTSD symptom severity (Salas-Wright & Schwartz, 2019; Vos et al, 2022). The link between cultural stress exposure and trauma response is in keeping with theory and empirical findings indicating that identity-based discrimination and social rejection can produce traumatic reactions by means of acute and chronic/cumulative exposure, or a combination of both exposure types (Carter, 2007; Carter et al, 2020).…”

“…First , is postmigration exposure to cultural stressors—discrimination, negative context of reception, and language stress—associated with posttraumatic stress and, importantly, does cultural stress independently predict posttraumatic stress when accounting for hurricane trauma exposure? Although prior research has examined the links between migration-related cultural stress and PTSD among Latin American migrants (e.g., Vos et al, 2022), our understanding of the effect of cultural stress above and beyond premigration traumatic experience is limited, especially among natural disaster survivors. Second , do hurricane trauma and cultural stress conjointly predict posttraumatic stress?…”

Hurricane stress, cultural stress, and mental health among hurricane Maria migrants in the U.S. mainland.

“…Although there are likely multiple reasons for this, one potential explanation involves the potential predictive link between hurricane stress and cultural stress. Two cross-sectional studies conducted by our research group, one with Hurricane Maria survivors on the U.S. mainland (Schwartz et al, 2022) and another with Venezuelan immigrants in Colombia and the United States (Vos et al, 2022), have found that premigration crisis-related stressors may predict postmigration cultural stress. Although the research designs used in these studies do not permit us to draw directional conclusions, the hypothesis suggested by these two sets of findings—in two different populations—is that stressors occurring prior to migration, and that may have helped to prompt the migration, may predispose individuals toward experiencing or perceiving cultural stress in the destination country or region.…”

The Work, Economic, and Remittance Stress and Distress of the COVID-19 Pandemic Containment Policies: The Case of Venezuelan Migrants in Argentina and Chile

“…Finally, this study contributes to the nascent but growing research on Venezuelan migrants’ psychological well-being. Previous studies found that Venezuelan immigrants experience psychological distress due to societal discrimination [ 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 ], fears about education and career status loss in the destination country [ 65 ], and the COVID-19 pandemic in general [ 23 ]. Moreover, there is evidence that Venezuelans in Peru experience stress when unable to send remittances during the pandemic [ 66 ].…”