Más Que Palabras: Understanding the Mental Health and Behavioral Consequences of Sociodemographic Risk and Deportation Fears in Latinx Families

• Published in: Psychological trauma 2024-08, Vol.16 (S2), p.S349-S359
• Main Authors: Arreola, Jose, Russo, Lyric N., Cervantes, Breana R., Paredes, Paulina, Hernandez, Hugo Sanchez, Marquez, Christina M., Montiel, Gloria, Leal, Francisca, Guerra, Nancy, Borelli, Jessica L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Child; Emigrants and Immigrants - psychology; Family; Fear; Fear - psychology; Female; Health Behavior; Hispanic or Latino - psychology; Hispanic or Latino - statistics & numerical data; Human; Humans; Immigration; Latinos/Latinas; Linguistics; Male; Mental Health; Mothers; Mothers - psychology; Parenting - ethnology; Parenting - psychology; Risk Factors; United States
• ISSN: 1942-9681; 1942-969X; 1942-969X
• DOI: 10.1037/tra0001351

Objective: Exponential increases in deportation and negative public discourse have resulted in heightened fears of profiling and deportation among Latinx immigrant families in the United States. Deportation fears could compound the inequalities Latinx families face, worsening mental and behavioral health. To better understand the mental health consequences of the climate of deportation concerns among low-income Latinx mothers in the United States, we conducted a linguistic analysis of interviews of Latinx mothers' parenting experiences, examining their use of words related to deportation fears (e.g., separado). We examined the interaction of sociodemographic risk with maternal deportation fears in predicting maternal and youth mental health. Method: Recent immigrant Latinx mothers (N = 160) and youth (Mage = 12.88, SDage = 1.73) completed the Parent Development Interview-Revised (Slade et al., 2004), analyzed using a deportation fears custom dictionary (Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count; Pennebaker et al., 2003). Mothers completed the Brief Symptom Inventory (Derogatis, 2001); youth completed the Youth Self-Report (Achenbach, 1991). Cumulative sociodemographic risk was assessed using a composite score of six risk variables. Results: Regressions revealed significant Sociodemographic Risk × Deportation Fear interactions for maternal depression (p = .01) and youth depression (p < .01) but not for maternal anxiety, youth anxiety, or aggression. As sociodemographic risk increased, associations between deportation fears and psychopathology decreased. Conclusions: The adverse impact of maternal deportation fears on mental health is visible only when demographic stress is lower. Deportation fears may increase mental health risk, potentially reducing treatment seeking among families previously at lower risk. Findings underscore the importance of policy and sociocultural shifts. Clinical Impact Statement In this study, which we conducted in collaboration with members of a community agency serving low-income Latinx families, we assessed linguistically expressed deportation fears in mothers and examined its association with mental health in this community. We found that observed maternal deportation fears are linked with greater depression for both youth and mothers. However, these associations are only present when the family's exposure to demographic stress is lower. Providers working with this community should assess which stressors loom largest in families' lives