Psychological impacts of immigration on identity, trauma, and economic status

¶ … Immigrant Experience

And Its Psychological Toll

Information Competency & Library Use

San Francisco, CA

The theoretical framework centers of the immigrant experience and how it changes the individual while navigating his or her new society. The topic statement seeks to explore these phenomena by focusing on the psychological experience and its relationship to violence and economics. The idea that the action of immigrating is profoundly disruptive on ideas of self-worth, identity and economic status are explored.

I address the various experiences of dislocation arising from migration. Distinctions are made between experiences of voluntary immigrants and refugees and asylum seekers and between legal and undocumented immigrants in their risk for trauma exposure and differential impacts of trauma in the context of immigration. Refugee status as inherently founded in trauma is analyzed, with a brief description of torture survivors among refugees. The issue of trafficked migrants is also discussed. What is core to cultural competence in work with immigrants is that the psychotherapist remain cognizant of how even the most dominant culture person experiences disruptions as a result of dislocation, no matter how voluntary, no matter how easily accomplished, and no matter how positive and successful the outcome; considering the impact of those dislocations on subsequent or prior trauma will enhance cultural competence in work with immigrants.

The researcher will examine holistic immigration experience and empathy via psychology and economics with related phenomenon such as PTSD and violence. The researcher will focus on examples of these relationships.

Review Article

Bakson, C.L. (1998). Youth Gangs and the New Second Generation: A Review Essay. Agression and Violent Behavior, 3(1), 35-45. Retrieve from Google: http://www.mendeley.com/research/youth-gangs-new-second-generation-review-essay/

This review essay details changes in American immigration law which has led to an enormous increase in the number of immigrants arriving in the United States and to a shift in the countries of origin of American immigrants from Europe to Central and South America and Asia. The children of this new wave of immigrants have been labeled "the new second generation." At the same time that these children have grown to adolescence and young adulthood, violent youth gangs have become a prominent aspect of American life. While the children of immigrants are not only participants in gang activity, many gangs have appeared in neighborhoods where immigrants have settled, and these gangs are often based on the ethnic identities of immigrant groups. This essay discusses general theoretical trends in the literature relating to youth gangs in immigrant ethnic groups. It suggests that these trends may be classified as opportunity structure approaches, cultural approaches, and social disorganization approaches. The essay points out some of the major questions this literature raises or fails to address, and it suggests directions for the conceptualization of new ethnic gangs and for empirical research in this area.

Book 1

Boutakidis, I. (2006). Youth Violence, Immigration and Acculturation in Guerra. In N.G. Guerra and E. Smith (eds.), Preventing youth violence in a multicultural society (pp. 75-99). Washington, DC, U.S.: American Psychological Association. Retrieved from ProQuest: http://hjb.sagepub.com/content/31/3/277.abstract

This book is applicable as it helps to synthesize how the immigrant experience can manifest in socioeconomic challenges and violence in urban settings. It examines the influence of family and neighborhood contexts on Hispanic youth problem behavior. The effects of parents' perceptions of neighborhood context and parenting practices on problem behavior are examined. Neighborhood context is suggested to be critical to problem behavior through positive parenting in one-parent families. This work argues that parenting is embedded within greater ecological contexts and show that their relations with youth can vary across family structure. Implications for further investigation and prevention research are discussed.

Article 1

Consedine, N., Sabag-Cohen, S. And Krivoshekova, Y. (2007). Ethnic, Gender, and Socioeconomic Differences in Young Adults' Self-Disclosure. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 13(3), 254 -- 263. Retrieved from PsycNet: http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=buy.optionToBuy&id=2007-10371-008

This article is significant for my research as it is one of the few studies including gender that examining the impact of socioeconomics on patient-reviewer information sharing across class and ethnic lines. Although prior research suggests that men and underrepresented groups disclose less, ethnicity is conflated with socioeconomic status and there are few data regarding the types of information that different groups disclose and whether this information is disclosed equally to different people. The article presents data on self-disclosure in >200 young adults (50% African-American, 50% female). The article found that disclosure adjusting for socioeconomic status, African-Americans were not less likely to share information. However, ethnic identity and gender were found to influence disclosure. Interestingly, the nature of information being disclosed was influential in examining young men of different ethnicities and African-Americans in particular. Overall, these findings suggest that economic status is more significant in predicting low disclosure than ethnic identity or gender and that lower disclosure in low-disclosing groups is greater in intimate relationships. The article than goes on to discuss how these unique patterns of interpersonal communication might influence mental health services in these communities..

Webpage

Farberman, R. (3 Mar 2006). Immigration's Impact. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from PsycNet: http://www.apa.org/monitor/mar06/impact.aspx

This webpage deals with immigration as driving America's demographic change. On the page, demographers and others who work with immigrants and refugees are provided a venue to report their findings. This page is valuable for my research as psychologists play a critical role in ensuring that today's immigrants, especially children, have the access to education and health services that will allow them to succeed and become a successful part of the future American workforce. Assimilation and acculturation of this newer and browner wave of immigrants is progressing at a slower rate than it did for earlier European immigrants. This trend in immigration has and will continue to have a significant impact on all U.S. institutions, from schools to the labor force, to media and politics, to health care.

Dissertation 1

Feldman, E. (2007). Implementation of the Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools with Spanish-Speaking, Immigrant Middle-School Students. (Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database.

This dissertation is significant as it explores one possible treatment option for immigrant children dealing with the impact of violence in their communities. The Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) is a community and individual program intended to lower the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and behavioral problems; strengthen peer and parental support and improve student coping skills when confronted with traumatic life events, such as violence, domestic violence, physical abuse and environmental disasters. The dissertation examines how student receiving CBITS evaluations have been individually screened for trauma or experienced a catastrophic weather event have benefited.

Article 2

Hall, M. (2010). Legal Status and Wage Disparities for Mexican Immigrants. Social Forces, 89(11). Retrieve from Google; http://paa2010.princeton.edu/download.aspx?submissionId=100150

This article provides extensive data on how more secure legal status improves income and helps explore issues of self-worth in immigrant men. It employs a unique method of inferring the legal status of Mexican immigrants in the Survey of Income and Program Participation to offer new evidence of the role of legal authorization in the United States on workers' wages. Wage trajectories for four groups are analyzed: documented Mexican immigrants, undocumented Mexican immigrants, U.S.-born Mexican-Americans and native non-Latino whites. Their estimates reveal a gross 17% wage disparity between documented and undocumented Mexican immigrant men, and a 9% documented-undocumented wage disparity for Mexican immigrant women. When worker human capital and occupation are held constant, these wage gaps reduce to 8 and 4%, respectively. The article also find large differences in returns to human capital with undocumented Mexican immigrants having the lowest wage returns to human capital and having very slow wage growth over time.

Encyclopedia Article

Immigrant and Refugee Culture. (2005). In Ember, M., Ember, C. And Skoggard, I. (eds.) Encyclopedia of Diasporas. New York, NY: Springer Reference. Retrieved from SpringerLink: http://www.springerreference.com/docs/navigation.do?m=Encyclopedia+of+Diasporas+(Human+Sciences)-book56

This encyclopedia article details a phenomenon that has occurred to almost every culture in experiencing adaptation and assimilation when immigrating to a new country and culture. Not only does this diaspora change the country of adoption, but also the country of origin. Many large nations in the world have absorbed, and continue to absorb, large numbers of immigrants. This article serves as a reference work that describes the impact upon the immigrants and the immigrant societies relevant to the world's cultures and provides an overview of important topics in the world's diasporas. It covers over 20 ethnic groups that have experienced voluntary or forced immigration. This article discuss the history behind the social, economic, and political reasons for leaving the original countries, and the cultures in the new places and discusses the impact and assimilation that the immigrant cultures experience in their adopted cultures, including the arts they bring, the struggles they face, and some of the cities that are in the forefront of receiving immigrant cultures.

Book 2

Inclan, J. (2003). Class, culture, and gender in immigrant families. In Silverstein, L. (ed.) Feminist family therapy: Empowerment in social context, (pp. 333-347). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Retrieved from SpringerLink: http://www.springerlink.com/content/j8626567j38815n2/

This book is remarkable for its emphasis on female challenges to the immigrant experience and how the interplay of social empowerment and economics can ameliorate the difficulties faced. It presents the position that immigration is a catalyst for cultural change, including gender role and gender ideology transformations. The acculturation process of immigrants takes place over time. The beginning point, pace, and outcome of the acculturation transformation greatly depend on the social class of the immigrant. There is also great variation within social class groups. Level of class consciousness accounts for a significant amount of this variability. Therapists working with immigrant couples may be better able to help their clients when they are able to contextualize the couple's social class and developmental stage in the immigration process.

Popular News Article

Inzaurralde, B. (17 Oct 2011). Counselors worry about psychological impact of immigration laws. Cronkite News. Retrieved from Google: http://ktar.com/category/local-news-articles/20111017/Student-counselors-worry-about-psychological-impact-of-immigration-laws/

This newspaper article details how recent strict immigration laws such as those passed in Arizona and Alabama cause stress for U.S.-born Latino students and those here illegally and can keep them from succeeding in college. The article details how among all Hispanics aged 18 to 24 years old who attended college, 54% where pursuing a bachelor's degree, which is well behind whites, Asians and blacks, with respective rates of 73%, 78% and 63%. In a modern society, it's important for all students to have access to higher education. The article advocates immigration reform and amnesty programs that can identify those who are willing to provide military service, workers who have been in the country for a while and can contribute.

Article 3

Kandel, W. (2011). Moving Up in Rural America: Economic Attainment of Non-metro Latino Immigrants. Rural Sociology, 76(1), 101 -- 128. Retrieved from Wiley Online: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1549-0831.2011.00047.x/abstract

This article is unique as very little work exists on the immigrant experience in any ethnic group outside of urban areas. The experience of being an immigrant in a low density area is significantly different and isolating with major impacts on their ability to negotiate better economics terms. The article outlines several key aspects of the new rural-urban interface and the growing interpenetration of American rural and urban life. The historical coincidence of spatial and social boundaries in America is changing rapidly. This review highlights (a) the enormous scale of rural-urban interdependence and boundary crossing, shifting, and blurring -- along many dimensions of community life -- over the past several decades, and (b) the symmetrical rather than asymmetrical influences between urban and rural areas, i.e., on bidirectional relational aspects of spatial categories. These general points are illustrated by identifying 10 common conceptions of rural America that reflect both its social and economic diversity and its changing spatial and social boundaries. Here we emphasize symbolic and social boundaries -- the distinctions between urban and rural communities and people and the processes by which boundaries are engaged. Placing behaviors or organizational forms along a rural-urban continuum (or within a metropolitan hierarchy of places) or drawing sharp rural-urban distinctions seems increasingly obsolete or even problematic. We conclude with a call for new research on rural America and greater conceptual and empirical integration of urban and rural scholarship, which remains disconnected and segregated institutionally.

Website

Kavanagh, S. And Schulten, K. (3 March 2012). Learning about U.S. Immigration. The New York Times. Retrieved from Google:

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/learning-about-u-s-immigration-with-the-new-york-times/

This website is valuable as it is a popular synthesis of various media and statistics regarding the immigrant experience and the country's legal, criminal and social reaction to these changes. For this research it will be useful in providing a non-academic resource. In addition, the website offers both pro and anti-positions on immigration and its social repercussions. Furthermore, the website provides both personal stories and statistics on the current immigration situation and its impact on various communities. Equally of value, the site has material on past immigrant waves into the United States and how to present the experience to students.

New Media -- Blog

Kolshienski, E. (3 March 2012). Immigration Experience Blog. Retrieved from Google:: http://immigrationexperience.blogspot.com/

This innovative blog compiles various personal narratives from different ethnic groups regarding their immigrant experience in transitioning to American culture and society. This resource will be valuable as a new media non-academic source that will allow my research to directly examine immigrant's perception in their own words. Furthermore, by understanding the myriad problems faced and solutions developed by earlier immigrants it will be possible to better analyze the current situation in modern times. I plan to use this resource to contrast how the immigrant experience has changed with time and to understand how today's immigrant population compares with their antecedents.

Research Study/Psychological Instrument

Nguyen, D., & Lee, R. (2012). Asian immigrants' mental health service use: An application of the life course perspective. Asian-American Journal Of Psychology. Retrieved from PsycNet: http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=buy.optionToBuy&id=2012-02071-001

This study/psychosocial instrument is unique as very little research exists on the Asian immigrant experience and how mental health services can help improve their well-being and help them copy with immigration-related stress. The census projects that the Asian population in the United States will double over the next 20 years, with much of the growth fueled by immigration and population aging. An empirical understanding of Asian immigrants' mental health needs across the lifespan exists, but the knowledge base is less developed in terms of mental health help-seeking. To prepare for population aging that reflects the diversity among Asian-American groups, this study applies the life course perspective to examine variations in mental health service use by age and Asian ethnic group membership. Using data from the National Latino and Asian-American Study (NLAAS), this study applies the life course perspective to investigate how age and ethnicity affect mental health service use among Asian immigrants. The results of a logistic regression analysis showed each age increase for Chinese and Vietnamese was associated with a decrease in the likelihood that they would seek mental health services compared with other Asians.

Dissertation 2

Villeda, Y. (2011). Acculturative Stress and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Latino and Asian Immigrants. (Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database.

This dissertation is remarkable as it uses a post-traumatic stress framework to explore the acculturative experiences and offers means of reducing the challenges of the experience. Psychological health requisites for immigrants are compounded by pre-existing needs along with the pressure of residing in a new society. This work explores acculturative stress (AS) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in immigrants by performing a data analysis of the 2002 to 2003 National Latino-American and Asian-American Study. The key acculturative stressors were influenced family factors, challenges interacting with their new society as a result of language problems and social standing. In addition, the dissertation reports that Hispanics suffer from greater acculturative stress than Asians when gender, age, ethnicity, educational attainment and time in the U.S. are accounted for statistically.

Learning Experience

This course has been intellectually stimulating and thought provoking. I have gained significant insight into the field of research which will serve me well in my future endeavors. This course is unlike my other graduate studies as it forces one to take ideas and to ground them in evidence and scholarly work. I had completed some annotations before but not from online databases in this depth. In conducting the research, I found that I gathered much more material than was needed which helped expand my knowledge base even if I did not use the material in my work. This process of editing and deciding what to include helped me to apply critical inquiry and commit to my chosen research topic. Without a doubt, I feel much more confident in conducting scholarly research and formulating my ideas. A second value skill learned from this course is that I feel that I have the ability to conduct online research regardless of the subject matter. In addition, I have developed familiarity with APA formatting.