The New School Psychology Bulletin

Bad Hombres: Perceived Discrimination, Acculturation and the Mental Health of Latinxs in a Growing Anti-Immigrant Climate. A Systematic Literature Review

Joaquin Calles Guzman, Senel Poyrazli — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 12:51:14 -0400

The presidential election of 2016 brought to the forefront anti-immigrant and nativist ideas which later took the form of policies, memorandums, and laws in the United States. Latinxs, especially Latinx migrants from Central and South America were one of the groups most targeted by these policies. Research has begun to show that the context of acculturation and in turn the level of perceived discrimination might play a key role in how individuals acculturate. This systematic literature review presents findings on the impact that perceived discrimination, especially during and around the last presidential election cycle, has had on the mental health of Latinxs. A synthesis of 10 research articles described evidence that a heightened anti-immigrant climate has negative and deleterious effects on the mental health of Latinxs, especially those with an undocumented legal status. Latinxs of different backgrounds described an increased sense of uncertainty, fear, and higher incidence of depressive symptoms. Individuals who lived in states with stricter anti-immigrant policies reported poorer mental health outcomes when compared with those in states with less strict policies. These findings suggest that the current context of anti-immigrant sentiment in the U.S. might have more negative effects on the mental health of Latinxs than previously thought. The findings outlined in this review highlight the importance of continuing to explore the impact of discrimination on the lives of Latinxs and other minority populations, especially during the current sociopolitical climate.

Stress, Academic Motivation, and Resilience Among International and Domestic Graduate Students

Busra Yaman — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 12:53:02 -0400

The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) pandemic poses a global threat to mental well-being to world population. Not only domestic students but also international students have been adversely impacted by the outbreak due to travel restrictions, delay in academic events, and financial instability. To fill the critical gap that the unprecedented COVID-19 and its rapid transmission led, the study investigated the links between stress and academic motivation, and resilience. Mental health status was assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), motivation was assessed by the Achievement Motives Scale-Revised (AMS-10), and resilience was assessed by the Resilience Appraisals Scale (RAS) among 106 Turkish graduate students. The findings demonstrated that female graduate students have higher stress levels than male graduate students during the outbreak. Perceived stress level and academic motivation were significantly negatively correlated among local students while perceived stress level and resilience were significantly negatively related among international Turkish students. Also, international students who had higher resilience were more likely to have higher academic motivation. The findings addressed the negative impacts of the disease on graduate students’ mental health and academic education and highlighted the need for psychological and social support that universities can provide for graduate students.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, outbreak, mental health, perceived stress, academic motivation, resilience, international students, graduate students, isolation

Art as a Way to Reconcile and Reconsolidate Memories

Camila Figueroa Restrepo — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 12:54:37 -0400