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Anxious Activists? Examining Immigration Policy Threat, Political Engagement, and Anxiety among College Students with Different Self/Parental Immigration Statuses.
- Source :
-
Journal of health and social behavior [J Health Soc Behav] 2024 Sep; Vol. 65 (3), pp. 381-399. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Apr 29. - Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- Restrictive immigration policies harm the mental health of undocumented immigrants and their U.S. citizen family members. As a sociopolitical stressor, threat to family due to immigration policy can heighten anxiety, yet it is unclear whether political engagement helps immigrant-origin students to cope. We used a cross-sectional survey of college students from immigrant families (N = 2,511) to investigate whether anxiety symptomatology was associated with perceived threat to family and if political engagement moderated this relationship. We stratified analyses by self/parental immigration statuses-undocumented students, U.S. citizens with undocumented parents, and U.S. citizens with lawfully present parents-to examine family members' legal vulnerability. Family threat was significantly associated with anxiety; higher levels of political engagement reduced the strength of this relationship. However, this moderation effect was significant only for U.S. citizens with lawfully present parents. These findings emphasize the importance of the family immigration context in shaping individuals' mental health outcomes.
- Subjects :
- Humans
Male
Female
Young Adult
Cross-Sectional Studies
United States
Adult
Parents psychology
Emigrants and Immigrants psychology
Adolescent
Universities
Undocumented Immigrants psychology
Public Policy
Mental Health
Students psychology
Anxiety psychology
Politics
Emigration and Immigration legislation & jurisprudence
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 2150-6000
- Volume :
- 65
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Journal of health and social behavior
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 38682706
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1177/00221465241247541