Undocuhealth

Learning to Be Illegal: Undocumented Youth and Shifting Legal Contexts in the Transition to Adulthood - by Roberto Gonzalez. This article examines the transition to adulthood among 1.5-generation undocumented Latino young adults. For them, the transition to adulthood involves exiting the legally protected status of K to 12 students and entering into adult roles that require legal status as the basis for participation. This collision among contexts makes for a turbulent transition and has profound implications for identity formation, friendship patterns, aspirations and expectations, and social and economic mobility.

Suicidal Behavior in Latinas: Explanatory Cultural Factors and Implications for Intervention – “We posit that the high rates of suicidal behavior by teenage Hispanic females reported in large-scale surveys can be understood as a cultural phenomenon, a product of specific elements of the history, tradition, ideology, or social norms of a particular society, and that treatment interventions must take family and cultural factors into consideration. For over a decade, surveys have reported that among ethnic and racial minority youth in the United States, Latinas have the highest rates of suicidal behavior compared to African American and non-Hispanic White adolescent females.”

Legal status, emotional well-being and subjective health status of Latino immigrants. – Among the many stresses that undocumented Latino immigrants experience, worries about their legal status and preoccupation with disclosure and deportation can heighten the risk for emotional distress and impaired quality of health.

Addressing the Mental Health Problems of Border and Immigrant Youth – For health care professionals on the front lines of providing mental health and trauma care to Latino children and families in the United States–Mexico border region, it is crucial to understand the diverse cultural, socioeconomic, environmental, and political factors that daily impact the lives of their clients/patients. Equally important, such clinicians need to implement culturally competent care while simultaneously addressing the families’ misconceptions and knowledge gaps about the causes of mental health problems and their treatment.

Needs and Services for Undocumented Youth – This qualitative study identified the challenges faced by undocumented Mexican undergraduate students and their need for services after matriculation to a selective four-year institution of higher education. The study also explored the perceptions held by university administrators and the extent to which they understood the challenges and service needs of the undocumented student population.

Immigration, Stress, and Depressive Symptoms - This study assessed levels of depressive symptomatology in a household probability sample of Mexico-born (N = 706) and U.S.-born (N = 538) Mexican Americans. We hypothesized that immigration status differences in acculturation, strain, social resources, and social conflict, as Well as differences in the associations of these variables with depression, would account for differences in depression between U.S.-born and Mexico-born respondents.

Undocumentedness and Liminality as Health Variables - The growing exodus of indigenous people from Mexico into the United States, especially from the multiethnic state of Oaxaca, is used as an exemplar of the global phenomenon of transnational migration and its effects on health. Lately, indigenous Oaxacan women have become a predominant part of this diaspora in the United States. Driven by economic desperation most arrive across the border as undocumented persons that configure them into multiple liminal spaces inimical to health and well-being.

“Mental Health of Immigrants and Refugees”-  The United States is a country of immigrants. With the exception of Native-Americans, every other American is, or descends from, an immigrant. First and second generation immigrant children are the most rapidly growing segment of the American population, with the great majority of this population being of non-European origin. This paper reviews the unique risk factors and mental health needs of our new immigrant populations, as well as treatment and services approaches to address their unique needs.

“Mental Health of Undocumented Mexican Immigrants A Review of the Literature” -  The Latino population in  the United States, the majority of whom are Mexican, is one of the fastest growing. Similarly, the number of undocumented Mexican immigrants (UMIs) continues to swell. However, little is known about UMIs living- in the United States, and much less is known about their mental health status. This interdisciplinary review of the literature aims to outline the current state of knowledge regarding the mental health of UMIs in  the United States. Themes isolated from the literature include failure to succeed in the country of origin: dangerous border crossings; limited resources: restricted mobility; marginalization/isolation; blame/stigmatization and guilt/shame; vulnerability/exploitability; fear/fear-based behaviors; and stress, depression, and health implications. Keywords: illegal immigrant. Latino, mental health, undocumented Mexican immigrant

Mexican immigrants to U.S. at risk for mental-health problems – Researchers found that during the time right after they arrived in America, Mexican migrants were nearly twice as likely to experience depression or anxiety issues. People between 18 and 25 have the greatest risk of being depressed, nearly four and a half times greater than Mexican peers who don’t emigrate.