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Abstract Background The present study was designed to compare cultural stressors, psychological distress, and their interrelationships between recent Venezuelan immigrants in the United States and in Colombia. Cultural stress theory suggests that immigrant groups in receiving contexts that are more culturally similar to them would report less discrimination, and a less negative context of reception, compared to immigrant groups settling in countries that are more culturally dissimilar. We therefore hypothesized that recent Venezuelan immigrants in Colombia would report less cultural stress, and less psychological distress (depressive and anxiety symptoms), compared to recent Venezuelan immigrants in the US. Method A sample of 647 Venezuelan immigrants (78% had migrated within one year prior to assessment) completed surveys assessing perceived discrimination, negative context of reception, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. Results Contrary to expectations, Venezuelan immigrants in Colombia reported significantly (p <.05) greater discrimination, a worse context of reception, and more depressive symptoms, compared to their counterparts in the US. Mediational models indicated that a negative context of reception was related to depressive and anxiety symptoms indirectly through experiences of discrimination. Conclusion The mean differences contradict what cultural stress theory would predict, and suggest that mechanisms other than cultural similarity and dissimilarity may be responsible for the observed differences. However, the structural relationships among these factors are consistent with theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research suggests that forced migration may lead to cultural stress and psychological distress. However, little is known about immigrant parents' pre- and post-migration concerns for their children's welfare. The present study examined the concerns of Venezuelan parents who migrated to the United States versus those who migrated to Colombia, and whether post-migration concerns were related to cultural stressors, mental health, and cultural identity. A sample of 609 Venezuelan immigrants completed surveys and responded to an open-ended prompt asking about pre- and post-migration concerns for children's welfare. Lack of safety was the most common pre-migration concern for Venezuelans in the U.S., whereas lack of food was the most common pre-migration concern for Venezuelans in Colombia. More years in the destination country since arrival were linked to heightened economic concerns and reduced worries about family separation. A positive link emerged between national identity and health-related concerns for children following migration. This knowledge can inform policies and programs to better support immigrant families as they navigate the challenges of forced migration., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Alpysbekova et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Anxiety is the most prevalent mental health disorder among adults worldwide. Given its increased prevalence among migrants due to their marginalized position in the societies where they reside, psychometric evaluations of anxiety measures such as the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) are needed for use with migrants. The present study is the first attempt to compare the structure of GAD-7 scores for (a) different Latino groups in the same country and (b) the same Latino group in two different countries. Using three samples of Mexican and Venezuelan migrants (total N = 933), we provide reliability and validity evidence of the GAD-7 for use with adult Latino migrants. Utilizing confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory, we demonstrate that the GAD-7 is internally consistent, possesses a strong single-factor structure, and generates scores with equivalent psychometric properties. GAD-7 is appropriate for use with Mexican and Venezuelan migrants across differing gender groups and education levels., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.