Stress and Fear in Immigrant Communities: Implications for Health and Human Development
Keywords:
Stress, Fear, Immigrants, HealthAbstract
The experience of immigrant families under growing immigration enforcement policies were explored to better understand the health implications that anti-immigrant policies may have on children, their families, and the wider social fabric of the immigrant community in Tucson, Arizona. A community based participation action research approach helped researchers formulate questions and organize focus groups to capture the nuances of mixed immigration status families—the varied legal status of family members within households—a condition attributed to decades of migration in response to the U.S. demand for labor and progressive impoverishment in less developed nations. Focus group texts were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Among the most notable results included the remarkably high stress experienced by immigrant families, especially among those headed by women. Implications of fear-invoking stress for immigrants include greater threats to psychological and physical well being important for health and human development.
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