Social Support and Integration Among Central American Immigrants

Background and Purpose: The Central American crisis (1960-1996) shaped immigration from Central America to the United States and continues to impact the well-being of immigrant communities. Foreign intervention, armed-conflict, and persecution changed immigration patterns from countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras from seasonal and intra-regional to more permanent departures. Exposure to community violence and traumatic stress before, during, and after immigration increases the likelihood of developing PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Interpersonal social support has been continuously identified as a protective factor for adverse mental health outcomes, however, little attention has been paid to factors that contribute to ISS in immigrants. Framed by these socio-political contexts, this investigation explores 1) factors that contribute to sources of interpersonal support and 2) differences sociopolitical contexts may have on these relationships. Amid the current immigrant crisis at the southern border, this investigation will contribute to our understanding of strengths-based, culturally, and historically contextualized examination of immigrant health.

Methods: Data came from the 2012-2013 iteration of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC-III), an extensive, nationally representative surveys of noninstitutionalized U.S. adults ages 18 or older sponsored by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Participants included households and segments (i.e., groups of Census-defined blocks) randomly selected according to a multistage probability sample design. A total of 558 Central American foreign-born respondents completed the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL-12), a 12-item scale designed to measure social support and were included in multivariate regressions. Twelve respondents were excluded from analyses since they immigrated before 1960 (N=546). Analyses were conducted on weighted data adjusted to represent the Central American immigrant population in the U.S.

Results: Findings indicate differences between perceived support for immigrants that arrived during the crisis and those that arrived in its aftermath. Sociodemographic distributions also allude to differences social positionality and identity may have on immigrant samples. For example, people who left between 1960-1996 had higher socioeconomic status and education despite low-income communities being more vulnerable to community violence. Perceived social support, age of arrival, education, and income were marginally higher for immigrants that arrived during the crisis. Increased education, community engagement and decrease in age of immigration linked to increased perceived support for more recent arrivals. However, these relationships were reversed or not statistically significant for immigrants who arrived during the Central American crisis. Increased perceived childhood support was statistically significant in contributing to perceived interpersonal social support in both samples.

Conclusions and Implications: Social support is a form of social integration and is associated with the context of immigration for Central American immigrants. Insight into sources of resilience, such as perceived support and social class, highlights differences in trajectories and allude to interventions that promote positive physical and mental health outcomes for vulnerable immigrants. In developing a strong understanding of protective factors we can advocate for immigration policies and practices that support relational processes, well-being and inhibit family separations of immigrants from historically oppressed communities.