Andrews, A.R.; Escobar, K.; Gonzalez, S.M.E.; Reyes, S.; Acosta, L.M. Investigating the Potential Double-Edged Score of Immigration-Related Stress, Discrimination, and Mental Health Access. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health2024, 21, 373.
Andrews, A.R.; Escobar, K.; Gonzalez, S.M.E.; Reyes, S.; Acosta, L.M. Investigating the Potential Double-Edged Score of Immigration-Related Stress, Discrimination, and Mental Health Access. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024, 21, 373.
Andrews, A.R.; Escobar, K.; Gonzalez, S.M.E.; Reyes, S.; Acosta, L.M. Investigating the Potential Double-Edged Score of Immigration-Related Stress, Discrimination, and Mental Health Access. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health2024, 21, 373.
Andrews, A.R.; Escobar, K.; Gonzalez, S.M.E.; Reyes, S.; Acosta, L.M. Investigating the Potential Double-Edged Score of Immigration-Related Stress, Discrimination, and Mental Health Access. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024, 21, 373.
Abstract
Prior work has suggested that discrimination and immigration-related stress may impede mental health care seeking and utilization among Latinx populations. These effects may be more nuanced as both discrimination and immigration-related stress may increase symptomology, particularly posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Both symptoms may in turn prompt attempts to seek care. The current study examined the direct effects of discrimination and immigration-related stress on care access, as well as potentially indirect effects with PTSD and depression symptoms as mediators. Interviews and online surveys were completed with 234 Latinx residents of the Midwest assessing everyday discrimination, discrimination in healthcare, PTSD symptoms, depression symptoms, current mental health utilization, and previous unsuccessful attempts to seek care. Direct effects of discrimination and immigration-related stress were largely unrelated to care access variables. Discrimination in healthcare settings predicted both unsuccessful attempts to seek care and current use, but this effect was positive. The indirect effect was largely supported, but only for PTSD symptoms and not depression. Results indicate further investigation is necessary to understand the direct effects of discrimination on care access. Further, discrimination and immigration-related stress may indirectly prompt attempts to seek mental health care.
Keywords
discrimination; immigration; care access; PTSD; depression; Latinx
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Public Health and Health Services
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
