Question

Describe how some immigrants to the US in the late 19th century sought personal fulfillment and how others sought to support their families and relatives.

Answer 1

Many immigrants adapt well to and thrive in their new living circumstances. They do so by navigating multiple sociocultural contexts in positive ways that contribute to their well-being and success in the United States. Studies suggest that first-generation immigrants may actually experience less psychological distress than secondgeneration immigrants.

It is important to note that while those who immigrate voluntarily may, on the whole, be hardier or more resilient than nonimmigrant comparison populations, there are particularly vulnerable immigrant subpopulations (e.g., refugees, older adults, and LGBT populations) that are likely to constitute a very different profile with additional stressors that can have a negative impact on their mental health. Whether there is evidence to support the notion that immigrants are less likely than U.S.-born populations to experience mental illness, there is no evidence in the literature that immigrants are any more likely to experience mental illness or psychological distress than nonimmigrants, taking into account who does and does not seek treatment. When immigrants do experience mental health difficulties, however, many are particular to the immigration experience. A wide range of mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, substance abuse, and higher prevalence of severe mental illness and suicidal ideation, have been observed among immigrant populations in the United States . Recent studies have also noted the unique presentation of psychological problems among immigrant children, such as a relationship between ataques de nervios and somatic complaints . The immigration process has the potential to serve as a catalyst for the development of a great variety of psychological problems and has been conceptualized as consisting of different phases . Each of these phases involves negotiating loss and separation from country of origin, family members, and familiar customs and traditions; exposure to a new physical environment; and the need to navigate unfamiliar cultural contexts. Given such experiences, many first-generation immigrants, particularly those individuals emigrating from countries in which the sociocultural context sharply contrasts with that of the United States, experience a variety of psychological problems, including stress.

The ways in which immigrant-origin youth are integrated into U.S. society and participate civically will no doubt affect the kind of society the United States will become in the next decades . To date, research on the civic engagement of immigrant-origin youth has been conspicuously sparse . While civic engagement has historically been defined as voting, it is now conceptualized as a more complex and differentiated phenomenon. Definitions of civic engagement include attitudes toward political participation, knowledge about government, commitment to society, activities that help those in need, and collective action to fight for social justice.

Trust and civic engagement do not occur in a vacuum. Context and current events set the stage for trust and mistrust in all their empirical and conceptual iterations. It remains to be seen, for instance, how the general climate of distrust in the United States and the current crisis over immigration shape immigrant youths’ civic trust and engagement. Research is needed on how the current political climate influences trust in the culture and future civic engagement. There is some evidence that immigrant adults tend to be generally optimistic and have an inclination to be appreciative of the opportunities afforded to them in their new land.