Faculty, Staff and Student Publications
Publication Date
8-1-2023
Journal
Journal of Clinical Psychology
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: We examine the interplay of acculturation orientation, cultural stress, and hurricane trauma exposure with behavioral health among Puerto Rican crisis migrants who relocated to the US mainland after Hurricane Maria.
METHOD: Participants were 319 adult (Mage = 39 years; 71% female; 90% arriving in 2017-2018) Hurricane Maria survivors surveyed on the US mainland. Latent profile analysis was used to model acculturation subtypes. In turn, ordinary least squares regression was executed to examine the associations of cultural stress and hurricane trauma exposure with behavioral health while stratifying by acculturation subtype.
RESULTS: Five acculturation orientation subtypes were modeled, three of which-Separated (24%), Marginalized (13%), and Full Bicultural (14%)-align closely with prior theorizing. We also identified Partially Bicultural (21%) and Moderate (28%) subtypes. Stratifying by acculturation subtype, with behavioral health (depression/anxiety symptoms) specified as the dependent variable, hurricane trauma and cultural stress accounted for only 4% of explained variance in the Moderate class, a somewhat greater percentage in the Partial Bicultural (12%) and Separated (15%) classes, and substantially greater amounts of variance in the Marginalized (25%) and Full Bicultural (56%) classes.
CONCLUSION: Findings underscore the importance of accounting for acculturation in understanding the relationship between stress and behavioral health among climate migrants.
Keywords
Adult, Female, Humans, Male, Acculturation, Hispanic or Latino, Surveys and Questionnaires, Transients and Migrants, Cyclonic Storms, Natural Disasters, Stress, Psychological
DOI
10.1002/jclp.23505
PMID
36905346
PMCID
PMC10363205
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
8-1-2024
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Author MSS
Published Open-Access
yes