Psychosocial Predictors of Depression among Central American Immigrants

Abstract

The present study investigated the relationship between stress and depression associated with acculturation among Central American immigrants (64 women, 14 men) and identified the best predictors of depression among Central American immigrants. Elevated acculturative stress was significantly associated with higher depression. Family dysfunction, ineffective social support, lack of hopefulness toward the future, and low socioeconomic status were also significantly associated with high depression. The overall findings suggest that Central American immigrants who report high acculturative stress may be "at risk" for experiencing depression and that effective family and social support, hopefulness toward the future, and socioeconomic status may serve to protect against depression during acculturation.