Cargando…

Is use of a smuggler to cross the US-Mexico border associated with mental health problems among undocumented immigrants from Mexico?

Although numerous studies have found that Latine immigrants to the United States (US) have better health outcomes on average than persons born in the US, studies of persons living in Mexico have found that undocumented immigrants have worse health, especially those that were deported, compared to Me...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Wilson, Fernando A., Stimpson, Jim P., Ortega, Alexander N.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10424853/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37578952
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0002232
_version_ 1785089749867823104
author Wilson, Fernando A.
Stimpson, Jim P.
Ortega, Alexander N.
author_facet Wilson, Fernando A.
Stimpson, Jim P.
Ortega, Alexander N.
author_sort Wilson, Fernando A.
collection PubMed
description Although numerous studies have found that Latine immigrants to the United States (US) have better health outcomes on average than persons born in the US, studies of persons living in Mexico have found that undocumented immigrants have worse health, especially those that were deported, compared to Mexican citizens that never migrated or migrated with authorization. However, the health outcomes of Mexican migrants using a smuggler to cross the US-Mexico border is a gap in the literature. We hypothesized that undocumented immigrant adults who used a smuggler to cross the US-Mexico border would be more likely to report mental health problems upon return to Mexico compared with undocumented immigrant adults that did not use a smuggler. We analyzed nationally representative, cross-sectional survey data of 1,563 undocumented immigrants currently living in Mexico. Most undocumented immigrants in the sample (87%) used a smuggler. Use of a smuggler by undocumented immigrant adults was associated with a 4.7% higher prevalence of emotional or psychiatric problems compared to undocumented immigrant adults that did not use a smuggler. We conclude that modality of ingress into the US is a risk factor for poorer mental health among undocumented immigrant adults.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-10424853
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2023
publisher Public Library of Science
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-104248532023-08-15 Is use of a smuggler to cross the US-Mexico border associated with mental health problems among undocumented immigrants from Mexico? Wilson, Fernando A. Stimpson, Jim P. Ortega, Alexander N. PLOS Glob Public Health Research Article Although numerous studies have found that Latine immigrants to the United States (US) have better health outcomes on average than persons born in the US, studies of persons living in Mexico have found that undocumented immigrants have worse health, especially those that were deported, compared to Mexican citizens that never migrated or migrated with authorization. However, the health outcomes of Mexican migrants using a smuggler to cross the US-Mexico border is a gap in the literature. We hypothesized that undocumented immigrant adults who used a smuggler to cross the US-Mexico border would be more likely to report mental health problems upon return to Mexico compared with undocumented immigrant adults that did not use a smuggler. We analyzed nationally representative, cross-sectional survey data of 1,563 undocumented immigrants currently living in Mexico. Most undocumented immigrants in the sample (87%) used a smuggler. Use of a smuggler by undocumented immigrant adults was associated with a 4.7% higher prevalence of emotional or psychiatric problems compared to undocumented immigrant adults that did not use a smuggler. We conclude that modality of ingress into the US is a risk factor for poorer mental health among undocumented immigrant adults. Public Library of Science 2023-08-14 /pmc/articles/PMC10424853/ /pubmed/37578952 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0002232 Text en © 2023 Wilson et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Wilson, Fernando A.
Stimpson, Jim P.
Ortega, Alexander N.
Is use of a smuggler to cross the US-Mexico border associated with mental health problems among undocumented immigrants from Mexico?
title Is use of a smuggler to cross the US-Mexico border associated with mental health problems among undocumented immigrants from Mexico?
title_full Is use of a smuggler to cross the US-Mexico border associated with mental health problems among undocumented immigrants from Mexico?
title_fullStr Is use of a smuggler to cross the US-Mexico border associated with mental health problems among undocumented immigrants from Mexico?
title_full_unstemmed Is use of a smuggler to cross the US-Mexico border associated with mental health problems among undocumented immigrants from Mexico?
title_short Is use of a smuggler to cross the US-Mexico border associated with mental health problems among undocumented immigrants from Mexico?
title_sort is use of a smuggler to cross the us-mexico border associated with mental health problems among undocumented immigrants from mexico?
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10424853/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37578952
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0002232
work_keys_str_mv AT wilsonfernandoa isuseofasmugglertocrosstheusmexicoborderassociatedwithmentalhealthproblemsamongundocumentedimmigrantsfrommexico
AT stimpsonjimp isuseofasmugglertocrosstheusmexicoborderassociatedwithmentalhealthproblemsamongundocumentedimmigrantsfrommexico
AT ortegaalexandern isuseofasmugglertocrosstheusmexicoborderassociatedwithmentalhealthproblemsamongundocumentedimmigrantsfrommexico