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Fear of Deportation and Associations with Mental Health Among Michigan Residents of Middle Eastern & North African Descent

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Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Anti-immigrant rhetoric and immigration policy enforcement in the United States over the last 2 decades has increased attention to fear of deportation as a determinant of poor health. We describe its association with mental health outcomes among Middle East and North African (MENA) residents of Michigan. Using a convenience sample of MENA residents in Michigan (n = 397), we conducted bivariate and multiple variable regression to describe the prevalence of deportation worry and examine the relationship between deportation worry and depressive symptoms (PHQ-4 scores). We found that 33% of our sample worried a loved one will be deported. Deportation worry was associated with worse mental health (p < 0.01). Immigration policies are health policies and deportation worry impacts mental and behavioral health.

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Acknowledgements

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award No: P30CA046592 by the use of the following Cancer Center Shared Resource(s): Center for Health Communications Research (CHCR). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Behavior & Health Education, University of Michigan, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2029, USA

    Paul J. Fleming, Minal R. Patel, Molly Green, Alyssa Smith & Kenneth Resnicow

  2. Rogel Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Minal R. Patel, Elizabeth Bacon, Stefanie Goodell & Kenneth Resnicow

  3. Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Service, Dearborn, MI, USA

    Madiha Tariq, Asraa Alhawli, Nadia Syed & Ali Ali

  4. Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Diane Harper

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  1. Paul J. Fleming
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  2. Minal R. Patel
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  5. Asraa Alhawli
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  7. Ali Ali
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  8. Elizabeth Bacon
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  9. Stefanie Goodell
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  11. Diane Harper
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  12. Kenneth Resnicow
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Correspondence to Paul J. Fleming.

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Fleming, P.J., Patel, M.R., Green, M. et al. Fear of Deportation and Associations with Mental Health Among Michigan Residents of Middle Eastern & North African Descent. J Immigrant Minority Health 25, 382–388 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-022-01394-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-022-01394-w

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