Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Aug;32(3):362-384.
doi: 10.1177/0739986310373210.

Acculturative Stress Among Documented and Undocumented Latino Immigrants in the United States

Consuelo Arbona  1 , Norma Olvera  1 , Nestor Rodriguez  2 , Jacqueline Hagan  3 , Adriana Linares  4 , Margit Wiesner  1
Affiliations

Acculturative Stress Among Documented and Undocumented Latino Immigrants in the United States

Consuelo Arbona et al. Hisp J Behav Sci. 2010 Aug.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine differences between documented and undocumented Latino immigrants in the prevalence of three immigration-related challenges (separation from family, traditionality, and language difficulties), which were made more severe after the passage of restrictive immigration legislation in 1996. Specifically, the study sought to determine the combined and unique associations of legal status, the three immigration-related challenges listed above, and fear of deportation to acculturative stress related to family and other social contexts. Participants in the study consisted of 416 documented and undocumented Mexican and Central American immigrants living in two major cities in Texas. The Hispanic Stress Inventory-Immigrant form was used to assess acculturative stress in the sample. Results indicated that although undocumented immigrants reported higher levels of the immigration challenges of separation from family, traditionality, and language difficulties than documented immigrants, both groups reported similar levels of fear of deportation. Results also indicated that the immigration challenges and undocumented status were uniquely associated with extrafamilial acculturative stress but not with intrafamilial acculturative stress. Only fear of deportation emerged as a unique predictor of both extrafamililal and intrafamilial acculturative stress.

Keywords: Latino immigrants; acculturative stress; legal status.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

References

    1. Alderete E, Vega W, Kolody B, Aguilar-Gaxiola S. Depressive symptomatology: Prevalence and psychosocial risk factors among Mexican migrant farmworkers in California. Journal of Community Psychology. 1999;27:457–471.
    1. Brislin RW. The wording and translation of research instruments. In: Lonner WJ, Berry JW, editors. Field methods in cross-cultural research. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage; 1986. pp. 137–164.
    1. Caplan S. Latinos, acculturation, and acculturative stress: A dimensional concept analysis. Policy, Politics, and Nursing Practice. 2007;8:93–106. - PubMed
    1. Capps R, Hagan J, Rodriguez N. Border residents manage the immigration and welfare reforms. In: Kretsedemas P, Aparicio A, editors. Immigrants, welfare reform, and the poverty of policy. Westport, CT: Praeger; 2004. pp. 229–249.
    1. Cavazos-Rehg PA, Zayas LH, Spitznagel EL. Legal status, emotional well-being and subjective health status of Latino immigrants. Journal of the National Medical Association. 2007;99:1126–1131. - PMC - PubMed