Immigrant Women, Violence, and Economic Oppression

Background:  El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are some of the poorest countries on the American continent. People in these countries live far below the poverty line of $1.90 per day set by the World Bank.  With minimum wages extremely low, and high unemployment rates, these countries have been engulfed in wars, and political and social turmoil.  Even in the absence of violence, economic despair prevents people from being able to meet their basic needs for survival. 

This study explores the plight of women from these countries who come to the U.S. to flee economic instability and violence that has surfaced as a result of racial and elitist oppression.  Despite the traumatic events these women encounter in their journey to the U.S., their desire to find work in order to survive and provide some stability to their family, speaks to the resilience of this population.

The overarching research questions include: Are there significant differences among these three groups of immigrant women in terms of their economic instability, level of violence experienced, and mental health status?  Are there differences in demographic factors before, during, and after migration?

Methods:  Data was collected using a cross sectional survey design.  Interviews of 108 women ages 18-65 were conducted using a screening tool to identify economic reasons for migration, demographics, and types of violence experienced before, and during their journey. In addition, three standardized screening tools wereused tomeasure participants’ anxiety, depression, and trauma.

Data wasanalyzed using univariate, bivariate and multivariate statistics, to identify significant differences among the three groups, understand relationships among variables, and make significant predictions and associations.  Forty-two percent of the participants were from Honduras, 34% from El Salvador, and 24% from Guatemala. 

At the time the survey was administered, the participants’ mean age was 42, and had been in the U.S. for an average of 19 years.  Their average age at the time of migration was 23, and 41% traveled alone or with minor children.

Results: Results indicate that 90% of participants had symptoms of depression, 95% had symptoms of anxiety, and 96% had symptoms of trauma. Eighty percent of the participants reported political and social violence as their reasons for migration, and 85% cited economic reasons.  Significant differences were found for violence, depression, trauma, and anxiety for the three groups; and, post hoc tests using Tukey HSD showed significant differences among each of the groups. Regression analysis indicated that the levels of depression and anxiety increased when trauma was introduced as a mediator.

Conclusion and Implications: Findings suggest there are significant differences between immigrant women from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras in terms of their reasons for migration, and their current levels of trauma, depression, and anxiety.  In light of these results, the importance of understanding the culture and history of each of these countries can play a pivotal role when assisting these women with counseling, education, housing, and other resources. Social workers can advocate for policies which incorporate these women into society when they arrive in the U.S.