Who is Taking Care of Central American Immigrant Youth? Preliminary Data on Caregiving Arrangements and Emotional-Behavioral Symptoms Post-Migration

Walker, John L.; Venta, Amanda; Galicia, Betsy

doi:10.1007/s10578-020-01002-8

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…He described not being able to leave the house in El Salvador; now he feels he can join a soccer team in the short term, and in the long term, attend university to become a lawyer. By being taken care of by his father, he was able to start seeing the possibility of a better life for himself [21]. This underscores the importance of family reunification for mental health and the role that family support plays in youth integration.…”

Section: Traumatic Experiencesmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Children from families divided across borders have a higher likelihood of experiencing separation anxiety, ongoing grief, and low self-worth [4,8]. Familial cohesion and stability play a role in behavioral outcomes among immigrant youth [21]. Those who are cared for by their parents or relatives have better behavioral outcomes than those who do not experience familial supervision or guidance [21].…”

Section: Traumatic Stressorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Familial cohesion and stability play a role in behavioral outcomes among immigrant youth [21]. Those who are cared for by their parents or relatives have better behavioral outcomes than those who do not experience familial supervision or guidance [21]. In addition, a caregiver's documentation status affects the well-being of the youth in their care.…”

Section: Traumatic Stressorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, a caregiver's documentation status affects the well-being of the youth in their care. Immigrant youth who live with undocumented caregivers are more likely to be stressed [21].…”

Section: Traumatic Stressorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Children are likely to be safer in the United States than they were in their country of origin. However, preoccupations about documentation status and deportation impact their mental health [21,69]. Immigration status can contribute to anxieties about immigration authorities and being sent back to an unsafe environment in their home countries.…”

Section: Mental Health Pre-and Post-migrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Symptoms of PTSD and Depression among Central American Immigrant Youth

et al. 2021

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The aim of this paper is to explore the mental health challenges that Central American immigrant youth face before and after arriving in the United States. This population is hard to reach, marginalized, and disproportionately exposed to trauma from a young age. This paper investigates the mental health stressors experienced by Central American immigrant youth and asylum seekers, including unaccompanied minors, surveyed in the U.S. in 2017. This mixed methods study uses qualitative data from interviews along with close-ended questions and the validated PHQ-8 Questionnaire and the Child PTSD Symptom Scale (CPSS). These new migrants face numerous challenges to mental health, increased psychopathological risk exacerbated by high levels of violence and low state-capacity in their countries of origin, restrictive immigration policies, the fear of deportation for themselves and their family members, and the pressure to integrate once in the U.S. We find that Central American youth have seen improvements in their self-reported mental health after migrating to the U.S., but remain at risk of further trauma exposure, depression, and PTSD. We find that they exhibit a disproportionate likelihood of having lived through traumatizing experiences that put them at higher risk for psychological distress and disorders that may create obstacles to integration. These can, in turn, create new stressors that exacerbate PTSD, depression, and anxiety. These conditions can be minimized through programs that aid immigrant integration and mental health.

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Section: Traumatic Experiencesmentioning

confidence: 88%