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Latin-American Immigrant Women and Mental Health: Differences according to their Rural or Urban Origin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Teresa Kirchner  and
Camila Patiño
Teresa Kirchner*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Barcelona (Spain)
Camila Patiño
Affiliation:
Universidad de Barcelona (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Teresa Kirchner. Facultad de Psicología. Universitat de Barcelona. Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 171. 08035 Barcelona (Spain). Phone: +34-933125009. Fax: +34-934021427. E-mail: tkirchner@ub.edu
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Abstract

Spain is one of the EU countries that receive most immigrants, especially from Latin America. The process of migration implies a high level of stress what may have repercussions for the mental health of immigrants. The purposes of this study were: (a) to determine whether the degree of mental health of immigrant women differs according to their rural or urban origin, (b) to compare the mental health of immigrant women with that of the female normative sample of host population (Spain). A sample of 186 Latin American immigrant women (142 from urban areas and 44 from rural areas) was recruited in Barcelona by means of a consecutive case method. A structured interview and the SCL-90-R were administered. The results indicated that the immigrant women from rural origin reported higher levels of psychological symptomatology than those from urban areas. Immigrants reported higher levels of psychological symptomatology than the native female population and in most of the psychological symptoms exceeded 90% of the native Spanish population. Migration is a powerful stressor which may lead to psychological distress. Being female of rural origin and being in an illegal situation is related with an increase in symptomatology.

España se ha convertido en uno de los países de la Unión Europea que recibe mayor número de inmigrantes, especialmente procedentes de América Latina. El proceso de inmigración implica altos niveles de estrés que pueden acabar repercutiendo en la salud mental de los inmigrantes. El objetivo de este estudio se ha centrado en (a) determinar si el grado de salud mental de las mujeres inmigrantes difiere según procedan de zonas rurales o urbanas, y (b) comparar el nivel de salud mental de las mujeres inmigrantes con el de la muestra normativa de la población autóctona femenina española. Se reclutó mediante un método de casos consecutivos una muestra de 186 mujeres inmigrantes procedentes de América Latina (142 de origen urbano y 44 de origen rural). Se les administró una entrevista estructurada y el SCL-90-R. Los resultados indican que las mujeres procedentes de zonas rurales reportan niveles más elevados de sintomatología psicológica que las que proceden de zonas urbanas. Asimismo, las mujeres inmigrantes, comparadas con las nativas, reportan niveles más elevados se síntomas psicológicos, que en muchos casos se sitúan por encima del centil 90. La migración se configura como un poderoso estresor que puede conducir a un profundo malestar psicológico. Ser mujer de origen rural y en situación de ilegalidad se asocia a un incremento del malestar psicológico.

Keywords

immigrationrural originurban originpsychological symptomswomeninmigraciónprocedencia ruralprocedencia urbanasíntomas psicológicosmujeres
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 14 , Issue 2 , November 2011 , pp. 843 - 850
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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