The Mental Health of Hispanic/Latino Americans Following National Immigration Policy Changes: United States, 2014–2018

Abstract

Objectives. To examine the relationship between aggressive enforcement of anti-immigration policies and mental health among Hispanics/Latinos in the United States before and after major national immigration policy changes. Methods. Data were drawn from Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys administered from 2014 to 2018. The exposure was the rate of immigration arrests in the 2 months before the survey date within the respondent’s state of residence. Outcomes included past-month reporting of (1) number of days of poor mental health, (2) at least 1 day of poor mental health, and (3) frequent mental distress. Results. There was no relationship between arrest rates and mental health among Hispanic/Latino respondents across the overall period. After consideration of policy changes, however, a 1-percentage-point increase in a state’s immigration arrest rate in the postpolicy period was significantly associated with each mental health morbidity outcome. Conclusions. We found evidence supporting an association between worsening mental health among Hispanics/Latinos and increased arrest rates following the announcement of several restrictive immigration policies. The potential public health effects of aggressive immigration enforcement must be better acknowledged and addressed in immigration debates.

Effect of Inadequate Sleep on Frequent Mental Distress

“…Sleep values were recorded as whole numbers, and values greater than 30 minutes were rounded up per BRFSS coding. Inadequate sleep was defined as 6 hours or less of sleep in a given 24-hour period, which is 1 hour less than the minimum recommended number of hours of sleep for adults (5,17,18). We chose this definition of inadequate sleep because the rounding done by BRFSS personnel could have created situations where people who actually had inadequate sleep were classified as having the minimum recommended hours.…”

“…Frequent mental distress was considered present if 14 or more days were reported as mental health “not good” in the previous month. This definition was based on recommendations from previous studies on frequent mental distress ( 19 ) and guidance from the American Psychiatric Association on the necessary duration of symptoms to diagnose depression ( 20 ).…”

An interdisciplinary framework examining culture and adaptation in migrant children and adolescents

“…Receiving societies that implement pluralistic or multicultural policies that allocate resources as well as promote the political inclusion of migrants can promote better adjustment in the new context (Cobb et al., 2019). By comparison, anti‐immigration policies that are strategically constructed to restrict access to vital resources such as education and healthcare, severely impact migrant children and adolescents’ well‐being (Androff et al., 2011; Bruzelius & Baum, 2019). Anti‐immigrant policies are largely fueled by misconstrued beliefs held by native‐born individuals about an existing threat posed by the presence of immigrants.…”

How Do We Measure Stress in Latinos in the United States? A Systematic Review

“…Literature shows that Latinos living in nontraditional immigration destinations are faced with additional challenges that may increase stress levels 41 , 42 and may also have less access to the health care services necessary to address the health effects of stress compared to those who move to more traditional immigration destinations. 43 , 44 As such, future research should seek to validate stress measures for these further marginalized Latino families to facilitate improved behavioral health interventions, especially in light of associations between poor mental health and the progressively more restrictive immigration policies we have observed in recent years, 45 and the inequities highlighted by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) pandemic. 46 , 47 …”