Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume 8, Issue 1, 2006, Pages 85-97

Leaving family for work: Ambivalence and mental health among Mexican migrant farmworker men (Article)

Grzywacz J.G.* , Quandt S.A. , Early J. , Tapia J. , Graham C.N. , Arcury T.A.
  • a Department of Family and Community Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1084, United States
  • b Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1084, United States
  • c Department of Family and Community Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1084, United States
  • d North Carolina Farmworkers' Project, Benson, NC, United States
  • e Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1084, United States
  • f Department of Family and Community Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1084, United States

Abstract

Men migrating to the United States from Mexico and Central America confront opposing family norms. They need to leave their families to gain family economic security; yet, leaving renders their families vulnerable. We examined the mental health implications of the opposing family norms inherent in migration using an ambivalence framework. We interviewed 60 Latino migrant farmworkers working in North Carolina. Most were from Mexico; each had left a wife and children in his country of origin. Analysis indicated that family ambivalence was common. Ambivalence was associated with anxiety symptoms (but not depression or alcohol dependence), especially among men who were unable to contact their families regularly. Results show the usefulness of the ambivalence framework, andsuggest that the origins of poor migrant mental health may reside in circumstances preceding migration. Study recommendations include facilitating family contact by expanding access to telephones among migrant workers. © 2006 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.

Author Keywords

Farmworker minority health Mental health Immigration Family

Index Keywords

anxiety education statistical analysis depression immigrant mental health service ambivalence Data Interpretation, Statistical agricultural worker mental health human immigration Sampling Studies North Carolina controlled study Agriculture priority journal Marital Status geographic distribution alcoholism Anxiety Disorders Mexico diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders statistical significance interview United States Young Adult social status family Humans Hispanic family life Interviews as Topic male population distribution Article emotion major clinical study adult occupational health Transients and Migrants Data Collection health survey
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-31144457119&doi=10.1007%2fs10903-006-6344-7&partnerID=40&md5=5924fe8c3dc2ac75a1e87cc44549c2ec
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-006-6344-7
ISSN: 15571912
Cited by: 85
Original Language: English