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African immigrants represent a rapidly growing immigrant group in the US, yet relatively little is known about influences on the health of this group. This is a particularly important oversight since adaptation to life in the United States can have deleterious effects on health due to the stress associated with immigrant and minority status as well as separation from family abroad. The present study explores how African immigrants experience acculturative stress – the stress-inducing elements of life as an immigrant – and the mental health implications of these experiences in light of home country values and conceptions of health. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of sub-Saharan African immigrant students attending a metropolitan university in the northeastern United States (N = 26). Data were analyzed thematically using NVivo 12. African immigrant students first experience acculturative stress through schools and neighborhoods where they encounter othering processes, including discrimination and racism. Family responsibilities to loved ones in the US and Africa also represent a source of stress that contributes to feelings of isolation and depression experienced while managing college responsibilities. Since these emotional and mental states are not within the purview of how health is viewed in their home countries, many suffer and may not get the care they need to effectively manage their mental health. Findings emphasize shared experiences of navigating cultural dynamics, family pressures, and discrimination that contribute to the stress experienced by African immigrants. Findings also underscore the need for the development of culturally sensitive interventions in university settings so that African immigrant students can be upwardly mobile and healthy in the long-term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To bridge the literature on the effect of father absence, international migration, and social networks on child health, we assess the association between father absence and maternal ratings of child poor health (MCPH). Next we test whether social networks of immediate and extended kin mediate the relationship between fathers' absence and MCPH. Methods Nested logistic regression models predicting MCPH are estimated using the 2013 Social Networks and Health Information Survey, collected in a migrant-sending community in Guanajuato, Mexico. These unique data distinguish among father absence due to migration versus other reasons and between immediate and extended kin ties. Results Descriptive results indicate that 25% of children with migrant fathers are assessed as having poor health, more often than children with present (15.5%) or otherwise absent fathers (17.5%). In the multivariate models, fathers' absence is not predictive of MCPH. However, the presence of extended kin ties for the mother was associated with approximately a 50% reduction in the odds of MCPH. Additionally, mother's poor self-assessed health was associated with increased odds of MCPH while the presence of a co-resident adult lowered the odds of MCPH. In sensitivity analysis among children with migrant fathers, the receipt of paternal remittances lowered the odds of MCPH. Conclusions for Practice Social networks have a direct and positive association with MCPH rather than mediating the father absence-MCPH relationship. The presence of extended kin ties in the local community is salient for more favorable child health and should be considered in public health interventions aimed at improving child health., Author(s): Heather B. Edelblute [sup.1] , Claire E. Altman [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000000121845633, grid.215352.2, Department of Sociology, University of Texas at San Antonio, , San Antonio, TX, USA (Aff2) [...]

This study examines the emotion work of non-migrant women as they seek to sustain family life across borders. We draw on in-depth interviews with 59 non-migrant women in Guanajuato, Mexico who had immigrant spouses in the USA to assess emotion work dynamics between partners. Our analysis reveals that non-migrant women do emotion work that entails imagining lives abroad and then tailoring emotional support that addresses the needs of spouses. We also discuss how the difficulties associated with prolonged separation leads women to suppress their own needs and feelings, which can lead to emotional burnout and marital conflict. Putting non-migrant women and their activities at the center of our analysis highlights the emotional costs of migration for those who remain behind and the ways in which emotion work is a highly gendered activity that reinforces inequality through communication. We highlight how women's subordinated status in transnational Mexican families and the need to keep the remittances flowing help explain why emotion work falls largely on women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women who remain in migratory sending communities as their family members migrate internationally are at risk for depression. Limited research examines the association between the number of absent household members and a woman's mental health. This study examines the association between residing in a migrant household and depressive symptoms for women in Mexico while accounting for social networks and social support. Logistic regression analysis was employed using the Social Networks and Health Information Survey (SNHIS) (n = 320), a random household survey conducted in a medium-sized municipality in Guanajuato, Mexico. Multivariate results suggest that residing in a household with two or more migrants was associated with increased odds of depressive symptoms, while having immediate kin in the community reduced the odds of depressive symptoms. Social relationships in the community and social support were associated with reduced odds of depressive symptoms. Their inclusion in the models reduced the significance of but did not significantly mediate the association between residing in a household with multiple migrants and depressive symptoms. Services aimed at improving women's health should target women who reside in households with multiple migrants and focus on reducing the stress and mental health impacts associated with these relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractObjectiveParticipantsMethodsResultsConclusionsUnderstand student concerns with returning to in-person instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic using an e-learning module.925 undergraduate and graduate students returning to in-person instruction in Fall 2021.Five modules educated students about COVID and the transition to in-person learning and collected quantitative and qualitative data related to concerns about COVID and in-person learning.65% of students expressed comfort in returning to in-person learning and almost all students answered the scenario questions correctly. Identifying as female and African-American as well as living off campus were connected to a decrease in comfort level associated with the return to in-person learning. Six major themes emerged from the qualitative data analysis.Students were well-informed about the COVID-19 pandemic protection measures. These findings suggest that universities can do more to address concerns students have about in-person settings during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the concept of transnationalism has gained widespread popularity among scholars as a way to describe immigrants' long-term maintenance of cross-border ties to their origin communities, critics have argued that the overall proportion of immigrants who engage in transnational behavior is low and that, as a result, transnationalism has little sustained effect on the process of immigrant adaptation and assimilation. In this article, we argue that a key shortcoming in the current empirical debate on transnationalism is the lack of data on the social networks that connect migrants to each other and to nonmigrants in communities of origin. To address this shortcoming, our analysis uses unique binational data on the social network connecting an immigrant sending community in Guanajuato, Mexico, to two destination areas in the United States. We test for the effect of respondents' positions in cross-border networks on their migration intentions and attitudes towards the United States using data on the opinions of their peers, their participation in cross-border and local communication networks, and their structural position in the network. The results indicate qualified empirical support for a network-based model of transnationalism; in the U.S. sample we find evidence of network clustering consistent with peer effects, while in the Mexican sample we find evidence of the importance of cross-border communication with friends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Returning to campus after remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us were excited about participating in interactive, hands-on health promotion for students. In response, our Office of Wellness Promotion planned a student health and well-being expo in partnership with the university’s College of Health Sciences (CHS). Faculty were invited to involve their students in the delivery. Student groups were encouraged to deliver health education in an interactive format. The event was open to the campus community, and participants were able to further their knowledge and skills in health and well-being topics. The student health and well-being expo was the first of its kind at the university, where students could learn with and from their peers and share their skills in many dimensions of wellness. The interactive nature of the activities allowed participants to practice health promotion skills and engage a diverse audience. Analysis of program evaluation data yielded overwhelmingly positive results, with most attendees considering the expo an innovative campus activity that fulfilled a need. Specifically, the interactive nature, peer learning, and incentives were aspects of the event students want to see return in future iterations of the expo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the concept of transnationalism has gained widespread popularity among scholars as a way to describe immigrants' long-term maintenance of cross-border ties to their origin communities, critics have argued that the overall proportion of immigrants who engage in transnational behavior is low and that, as a result, transnationalism has little sustained effect on the process of immigrant adaptation and assimilation. In this paper, we argue that a key shortcoming in the current empirical debate on transnationalism is the lack of data on the social networks that connect migrants to each other and to non-migrants in communities of origin. To address this shortcoming, our analysis uses unique bi-national data on the social network connecting an immigrant sending community in Guanajuato, Mexico, to two destination areas in the United States. We test for the effect of respondents' positions in cross-border networks on their migration intentions and attitudes towards the United States using data on the opinions of their peers, their participation in cross border and local communication networks, and their structural position in the network. The results indicate qualified empirical support for a network-based model of transnationalism; in the U.S. sample we find evidence of network clustering consistent with peer effects, while in the Mexican sample we find evidence of the importance of cross-border communication with friends.