Crossroads: The Psychology of Immigration in the New Century

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In a knowledge-intensive economy, higher education has become more important than ever before. While immigrantorigin youth from some countries are finding themselves highly competitive in college access and completion, other groups fail to access higher education (Baum & Flores, 2011; Hagy & Staniec, 2002). The status of being of immigrant origin is not in and of itself the impediment to higher education—indeed, there is evidence that for most immigrant-origin groups, first and second generation fare better than third generation in both college access and attainment of bachelor of arts degrees (Hao & Ma, 2011). Rather, it is individual and familial characteristics (such as parental education, race, generation, country of origin) as well as school, community, and legal barriers encountered in the host setting that serve to explain the variation in higher education attainment (Baum & Flores, 2011). Notably, more immigrant students attend community colleges than any other type of postsecondary institution, as they are affordable, provide English-language courses, have open admissions policies, and offer the promise of preparing students for the labor market (Teranishi, Suárez-Orozco, & Suárez-Orozco, 2011). Meeting the needs of immigrant-origin students has not been a national priority in today’s high-stakes testing, school reform environment (Menken, 2008; C. Suárez- Orozco et al., 2008). This population is indeed continuously “overlooked and underserved” (Ruiz-de-Velasco et al., 2000). Moving forward, more systematic attention should be focused on their educational needs. This requires a comprehensive research and public policy agenda to establish efficacious educational practices addressing the specific learning needs of immigrant-origin students. 60 Report of the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration
Immigrant Populations in Clinical Contexts a resilience Perspective Many immigrants adapt well to and thrive in their new living circumstances. They do so by navigating multiple sociocultural contexts in positive ways that contribute to their well-being and success in the United States. Studies suggest that first-generation immigrants may actually experience less psychological distress than second- generation immigrants (Alegría, Canino, Stinson, & Grant, 2006). While the “immigrant paradox” (see the Introduction) may lead to the conclusion that the first generation has reported lower than expected negative mental health outcomes, several caveats should be considered. It may be that the first generation is healthier than subsequent generations, but it may also be that several different issues are artificially deflating or confounding these prevalence rates. It may be possible that first-generation persons • experience different disorders than ones included in Western psychiatric classification systems (e.g., neurasthenia) (S. Sue & Chu, 2003); • have different idioms of distress (e.g., ataque de nervios) (Guarnaccia et al., 2007; I. López, Dent, et al., 2011); • experience their symptoms in culturally different ways (e.g., fatigue or malaise instead of “depression”) (Pumariega, Rothe, & Pumariega, 2005); • are less likely to report their symptoms if they feel selfconscious about doing so (Nadeem et al., 2007); and • are less likely to avail themselves of services either because this is not a culturally normative practice or because they simply do not trust outsiders (Whaley, 2001). Immigrant Populations in Clinical Contexts The tools used to assess clinical symptomatology are usually not calibrated for immigrant populations either linguistically or culturally. In addition, the tools used to assess clinical symptomatology are usually not calibrated for immigrant populations either linguistically or culturally (Dana, 2005). It is important to note that while those who immigrate voluntarily may, on the whole, be hardier or more resilient than nonimmigrant comparison populations, there are particularly vulnerable immigrant subpopulations (e.g., refugees, older adults, and LGBT populations) that are likely to constitute a very different profile with additional stressors that can have a negative impact on their mental health. Whether there is evidence to support the notion that immigrants are less likely than U.S.-born populations to experience mental illness, there is no evidence in the literature that immigrants are any more likely to experience mental illness or psychological distress than nonimmigrants, taking into account who does and does not seek treatment. When immigrants do experience mental health difficulties, however, many are particular to the immigration experience. A wide range of mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, substance abuse, and higher prevalence of severe mental illness and suicidal ideation, have been observed among immigrant populations in the United States (Desjarlais et al., 1995; Duldulao et al., 2009). Recent studies have also noted the unique presentation of psychological problems among immigrant children, such as a relationship between ataques de nervios and somatic complaints (I. López, Ramirez, Guarnaccia, Canino, & Bird, 2011). The immigration process has the potential to serve as a catalyst for the development of a great variety of psychological problems and has been conceptualized as consisting of different phases (Akhtar, 2010; Tummala-Narra, 2009). Each of these phases involves negotiating loss and 61
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Report of the APA Presidential Task
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Crossroads The Psychology of ImmIgr
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Preface One of the benefits of serv
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Diane Elmore, PhD (APA Public Inter
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2011; C. Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-O
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2010; M. H. Lopez & Taylor, 2010).
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designed with their educational obs
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al., 2006), communication problems
Page 20 and 21: Sloan, & Sperling, 2011) and toward
Page 22 and 23: • The mesosystem is made up of in
Page 24 and 25: lesbian, gay, bisexual, disabilitie
Page 26 and 27: contributed to the growth of undocu
Page 28 and 29: All other countries 42% FIGURE 3. T
Page 30 and 31: to learn English (Bayley & Regan, 2
Page 32 and 33: Exclusion Act of 1882) specifically
Page 34 and 35: and mental health outcomes. Discrim
Page 36 and 37: adaptation: acculturation, Cultural
Page 38 and 39: In a number of studies, strong iden
Page 40 and 41: documented the problems caused by a
Page 42 and 43: Populations Facing Unique Challenge
Page 44 and 45: American region (Mexico, Canada, Ce
Page 46 and 47: the government or a group the gover
Page 48 and 49: Notably, in 2000, approximately 650
Page 50 and 51: often rely on their ethnic immigran
Page 52 and 53: Life span Considerations Looking at
Page 54 and 55: Transition to adulthood in the Unit
Page 56 and 57: In a study of Korean elders, there
Page 58 and 59: those of native English speakers an
Page 60 and 61: linguistic group in the United Stat
Page 62 and 63: or deported, immigration officials
Page 64 and 65: Immigrant students whose education
Page 66 and 67: to read in the home language promot
Page 68 and 69: & Mapp, 2002). Teachers, in turn, v
Page 72 and 73: separation from country of origin,
Page 74 and 75: As individuals negotiate their iden
Page 76 and 77: Barriers to Treatment While an incr
Page 78 and 79: and traditional mental health setti
Page 80 and 81: effective than those conducted in E
Page 82 and 83: development, to remediation). Thera
Page 84 and 85: Considerations for the Field The Un
Page 86 and 87: time. For example, under what condi
Page 88 and 89: summary of recommendations Recommen
Page 90 and 91: • Support opportunities for dialo
Page 92 and 93: Culture brokering: When children of
Page 94 and 95: Protective factors: Conditions in f
Page 96 and 97: eferences Abraham, M. (2000). Isola
Page 98 and 99: Bedolla, L. G. (2000). They and we:
Page 100 and 101: Carhill, A., Suárez-Orozco, C., &
Page 102 and 103: Delgado-Gaitan, C. (1994, April). M
Page 104 and 105: Gee, G. C., Spencer, M., Chen, J.,
Page 106 and 107: www.splcenter.org/get-informed/inte
Page 108 and 109: LaFromboise, T., Coleman, H. L., &
Page 110 and 111: McKitrick, D. S., Edwards, T. A., &
Page 112 and 113: psychological, and educational appl
Page 114 and 115: Robjant, K., Hassan, R., & Katona,
Page 116 and 117: Stepick, A., Stepick, C. D., & Labi
Page 118 and 119: the job that’s tough”: The ELL
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Waters, M. C., & Jiménez, T. R. (2
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AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
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