Abstract
This cross-sectional study examined coping strategies and their relationship with depression among undocumented Hispanic immigrants. A community sample of 122 self-identified undocumented Hispanics filled out questionnaires measuring coping and depression. The authors categorized coping strategies as problem-focused, active-emotional, or avoidant-emotional. Findings indicated that coping through “prayer and meditation” (problem-focused), “get comfort from someone” (active-emotional), and “see bad things positively” (active-emotional) were more frequently used by undocumented Hispanics. Contrary to past research and predictions, problem-focused and active-emotional coping were both positively related to depression. What is more, problem-focused coping accounted for additional variance of depression above and beyond active-emotional coping. The insoluble nature of many of the problems faced by undocumented immigrants may explain the counterintuitive finding that as problem-focused and active-emotional coping increased, so too did depression.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Passel JS, Cohn D. A portrait of unauthorized immigrants in the United States. Washington, D.C.: Pew Hispanic Center; 2009.
Sullivan MM, Rehm R. Mental health of undocumented Mexican immigrants: a review of the literature. ANS. 2005;3:240–51.
Menselson T, Rehkopf DH, Kubzansky LD. Depression among Latinos in the United States: a meta-analytic review. J Consult Clin Psycho. 2008;76:355–66.
Schwartz S, Meyer IH. Mental health disparities research: the impact of within and between group analyses on tests of social stress hypotheses. Soc Sci Med. 2010;70:1111–8.
Pérez MC, Fortuna L. Psychosocial stressors, psychiatric diagnoses, and utilization of mental health services among undocumented immigrant Latinos. J Immigr Refug Serv. 2005;3:107–23.
Carver CS, Scheier MF. Situational coping and coping dispositions in a stressful transaction. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1994;66:184–95.
Folkman S, Lazarus RS. If it changes it must be a process: study of emotion and coping during three stages of a college examination. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1985;48:150–70.
Folkman S, Moskowitz JT. Coping: Pitfalls and promise. Annu Rev Psychol. 2004;55:745–74.
Holahan CJ, Moos RH. Risk, resilience, and psychological distress: a longitudinal analysis with adults and children. J Abnorm Psychol. 1987;96:3–13.
Coyne JC, Racioppo MW. Never the twain shall meet? Closing the gap between coping research and clinical intervention research. Am Psychol. 2000;55:655–64.
Epstein-Ngo Q, Maurizi LK, Bregman A, Ceballo R. In response to community violence: coping strategies and involuntary stress responses among Latino adolescents. Cult Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2013;19:38–49.
Moreno O, Cardemil E. Religiosity and mental health services: an exploratory study of help seeking among Latinos. J Latina/O Psychol. 2013;1:53–67.
Crockett LJ, Iturbide MI, Torres Stone RA, McGinley M, Raffaelli M, Carlo G. Acculturative stress, social support, and coping: relations to psychological adjustment among Mexican-American college students. Cult Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2007;13:347–55.
Gloria AM, Castellanos J, Orozco V. Perceived educational barriers, cultural fit, coping responses, and psychological well-being of Latina undergraduates. Hisp J Behav Sci. 2005;27:161–83.
Constantine MG, Alleyne VL, Caldwell LD, McRae MB, Suzuki LA. Coping responses of Asian, Black, and Latino/Latina New York City residents following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States. Cult Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2005;11:293–308.
Radloff LS. The CES-D Scale: a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Appl Psychol Meas. 1977;1:385–401.
Roberts RE. Reliability of the CES-D Scale in different ethnic contexts. Psychiatry Res. 1980;2:125–34.
Carver CS. You want to measure coping but your protocol’s too long: consider the Brief COPE. Int J Behav Med. 1997;4:92–100.
Perczek R, Carver CS, Price AA, Pozo-Kaderman C. Coping, mood, and aspects of personality in Spanish translation and evidence of convergence with English versions. J Pers Assess. 2000;74:63–87.
Schnider KR, Elhai JD, Gray MJ. Coping style use predicts posttraumatic stress and complicated grief symptom severity among college students reporting a traumatic loss. J Couns Psychol. 2007;54:344–50.
Koerner SS, Shirai Y, Pedroza R. Role of religious/spiritual beliefs and practices among Latino family caregivers of Mexican descent. J Latina/o Psychol. 2013;2:95–111.
Leyva B, Allen JD, Tom LS, Ospino H, Torres MI, Abraido-Lanza AF. Religion, fatalism, and cancer control: a qualitative study among Hispanic Catholics. Am J Health Behav. 2014;38:839–49.
Gonzalez RG, Chavez LR. “Awakening to a Nightmare”: abjectivity and illegality in the lives of undocumented 1.5-generation Latino immigrants in the United States. Curr Anthropol. 2012;53:255–81.
Vega WA, Sribney WM, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Kolody B. 12-month prevalence of DSM–III–R psychiatric disorders among Mexican Americans: nativity, social assimilation, and age determinants. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2004;192:532–41.
Grant BF, Stinson FS, Hasin DS, Dawson DA, Chou SP, Anderson K. Immigration and lifetime prevalence of DSM–IV psychiatric disorders among Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic Whites in the United States: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2004;61:1226–33.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cobb, C.L., Xie, D. & Sanders, G.L. Coping Styles and Depression Among Undocumented Hispanic Immigrants. J Immigrant Minority Health 18, 864–870 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-015-0270-5
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-015-0270-5