The Effect of Unpreparedness for Immigration Court on Psychopathology

Abstract

Violence and economic hardship in Central America have resulted in a surge of immigrants entering the USA and immigration court proceedings. Concerns about immigration proceedings, including fear of deportation, and feeling unprepared for court appearances, may exacerbate risk for mental illness. Against this background, this study aimed to examine the degree to which immigration-court-related concerns relate to emotional symptoms. Seventy-six recently immigrated Spanish-speaking high school students were surveyed using the Perceived Preparedness for Immigration Court Scale (PPICS) and the Intolerance of Unpreparedness Scale for Immigration Court (IUPS). Participants ranged in age from 15 to 25 years old (M = 19.6; SD = 2.1), and 56.6% were male (n = 43). Analyses revealed that perceived preparedness for immigration court is a significant moderator of the relation between intolerance of unpreparedness for immigration court and emotional problems, such that individuals experience more emotional problems the more intolerant they are of feeling unprepared for immigration court at all levels of perceived preparedness in females, but only at low and moderate levels of perceived preparedness for males. Future research should explore intolerance of unpreparedness and perceived preparedness for immigration court as targets for intervention in this population, taking note of gender differences.