TMC PULSE

7 t m c » p u l s e | m ay 2 0 1 9 Undocumented Mexican Immigrants Plagued by Loss and Distress A new study examines the psychology of this at-risk population A pproximately 18 years ago, a little boy and his mother entered the United States illegally. The young boy suffered from congenital heart disease and needed a new heart. His mother, fleeing severe domestic abuse, hoped they could build a new life in America and that she could get her small son the specialized medical care he so desperately needed. Years passed, but the undocumented boy was never considered for the transplant list. His condition progressively worsened until he was finally placed in palliative care. Today, he relies on morphine to control the pain that pulses through- out his body. His mother remains by his side, but she, too, is dying—waiting for a liver transplant that will never come. This story was collected in clinical interviews that took place between Nov. 2014 and Jan. 2015. In all, 248 undocumented Mexican immigrants residing near the California-Mexico border were interviewed by researchers who wanted to exam- ine the prevalence of migration-related loss and its association with ongoing trauma and psycho- logical distress. Results of the study appeared in a paper titled "A High Price Paid: Loss and Distress Among Undocumented Mexican Immigrants," published by the Journal of Latinx Psychology. Luz Garcini, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow in Rice University's department of psy- chological sciences and the study's lead author, stressed the importance of these interviews in collecting her data. "If we were to do the clinical interview using traditional measures and with a traditional diagnosis—without really knowing the context of how this young adult was living—he would come out as a drug addict," said Garcini, who also serves as a faculty scholar at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice and will soon join the The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio as an assistant professor at The Center for Research to Advance Community Health. "The stress and the high level of depression and anxi- ety and the constant amounts of medically related drugs that he was consuming—he would have come out of the study as someone with substance abuse, which is the stereotype that is so prevalent in this community. That's why it is so important to get the story, to find out who these people really are." Loss and trauma Garcini, who worked alongside colleagues at Rice as well as researchers at the University of Denver, the University of New Mexico, the University of Central Florida and The University of Texas at Austin, discovered that the rate at which undocu- mented Mexican immigrants suffer psychological and physical losses related to their migration was much higher than previously understood. "We knew there was a high prevalence of loss and trauma in this population—we expect it because we know the many challenges they face. However, they were so much higher than I could even imagine, particularly in terms of repeated exposure or multiple losses," Garcini said. The study's participants were mostly female, married and living on a household income of less than $2,000 a month. The majority had been in the U.S. for more than 10 years. Researchers divided the different types of losses into separate categories, including the symbolic self, interdependence, home, interper- sonal relationships and interpersonal integrity. They found that migration-related loss was high across all categories. Even more, these losses were linked to clinically significant psychological stress—especially loss of interdependence related to being treated differently by others for not having a visa. Yet despite what seemed to be endless suf- fering, the people who shared their stories were remarkably strong, Garcini said. "One of the most striking things is that, regardless of the amount of loss and trauma, they are very resilient," she said. "I would say, 'It seems like you've endured a lot in your life and you have lost a lot. How are you doing? How would you describe your life here?' And they would say, 'It's very good.' And I would say, 'But you're struggling. You're facing loss and trauma,' and they would say, 'Yes, but you don't know where I come from. This is much better than what I left behind.'" ➟ B y A l e x a n d r a B e c k e r A visitor to the Tijuana side of the U.S.-Mexico border places his hand on a painted heart. Credit: Photo by Michael Nigro (Sipa via AP Images)

• Cover