Mental health in immigrants from nontraditional receiving sites

Abstract

The mental health of Latinos immigrating to nontraditional settlements may be compromised by limited contextual resources. Stressors and strengths related to anxiety and depression were examined among 150 Mexican adults (45.3% women) in nontraditional areas. Normative stress was associated with anxiety (beta = .24) after controlling for depression. Normative and acculturative stressors were associated with depression after controlling for anxiety (betas = .36 and .17, respectively). Links between normative stress and depression were particularly strong for women. Social support provided resilience, being linked with lower depression (beta = -.20, p < .01). Acculturative stress and meeting economic expectations were associated with greater depression, but only for recent immigrants. Acculturative and normative stress increased the odds of clinical caseness for comorbidity by 4% and 62%, respectively, whereas social support decreased risk. Contextual implications and the need for resources to aid cultural adaptation are discussed.