Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume 18, Issue 3, 2016, Pages 497-504

Economic Hardship and Depression Among Women in Latino Farmworker Families (Article)

Pulgar C.A. , Trejo G. , Suerken C. , Ip E.H. , Arcury T.A. , Quandt S.A.*
  • a Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Medical Center Boulevard, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, United States
  • b Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Medical Center Boulevard, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, United States
  • c Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Biostatistical Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, United States
  • d Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Biostatistical Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, United States
  • e Department of Family and Community Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, United States
  • f Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Medical Center Boulevard, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, United States

Abstract

Farmworker family members risk poor mental health due to stressors including poverty, relocation, and documentation status. This paper explores the relationship between farm-work related stressors and depressive symptoms in women of Latino farmworker families. 248 mothers of young children completed fixed-response interviews in Spanish. Measures included the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, Migrant Farmworker Stress Inventory, and USDA Household Food Security Survey Module. Bivariate analyses indicated greater depressive symptoms with more economic hardship, more farm work-related stressors, greater age, and being unmarried. In multivariable logistic regression, economic hardship remained the only factor associated with depressive symptoms. Greater economic hardship, but not general farm work-related stress, is a main factor associated with depression in women of Latino farmworker families. Maternal depression can have consequences for both mothers and families. Mental health services for women in farmworker families should be targeted to those with the greatest economic challenges. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Author Keywords

immigrants Women Depression Migrant workers Mental health

Index Keywords

depression poverty agricultural worker mental health human epidemiology middle aged North Carolina rural population Food Supply Logistic Models Farmers ethnology Hispanic Americans catering service Young Adult Humans psychology Hispanic Adolescent female Socioeconomic Factors socioeconomics Mothers mother adult statistical model
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84930166873&doi=10.1007%2fs10903-015-0229-6&partnerID=40&md5=e40eeacfd4a5a8f96e4ba7cfa895b5cf
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-015-0229-6
ISSN: 15571912
Cited by: 8
Original Language: English