Venezuelan Forced Migration to Peru During Sociopolitical Crisis: an Analysis of Perceived Social Support and Emotion Regulation Strategies

Mediating role of perceived social support in the relationship between unemployment and mental distress among healthcare graduates during the COVID-19 era

Objective

This study investigates the mediating role of perceived social support in the relationship between unemployment and mental distress among young healthcare graduates in Bolivia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

A cross-sectional analysis within a cohort study was conducted using data from 109 healthcare graduates from Bolivia collected through an online survey in 2022. The survey measured employment status, mental distress with the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and perceived social support using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Mediation analysis was performed in R to examine the mediating effect of perceived social support on the relationship between unemployment and mental distress.

Results

More than two-thirds of participants reported mental distress. Consistent with the main effect model, employment was directly associated with lower levels of mental distress, and perceived social support was positively related to better mental health. However, perceived social support did not statistically significant mediate the impact of unemployment on mental distress, with only 2.1% of the effect being mediated through perceived social support.

Conclusion

Despite the beneficial effect of perceived social support on mental health, it did not significantly mediate the relationship between unemployment and mental distress among Bolivian healthcare graduates during COVID-19. The findings highlight the need for targeted mental health support that go beyond social support for unemployed healthcare graduates during crises.

Social support and cognitive reappraisal in adolescent females: The moderating role of lifetime stressor exposure

Although social support is known to shape how individuals use emotion regulation strategies such as cognitive reappraisal, little is known about the specific dimensions of social support that facilitate such use and whether this use is moderated by lifetime stressor exposure. To investigate, we harnessed data from 47 adolescent females who participated in the Psychobiology of Stress and Adolescent Depression (PSY SAD) study to examine how six dimensions of social support related to youths' use of cognitive reappraisal. In addition, we investigated whether lifetime stressor exposure moderated the association between social support and cognitive reappraisal use in this sample. Results revealed that lifetime stressor exposure moderated the association between social support and cognitive reappraisal. Contrary to hypotheses, however, overall social support and the reassurance of worth dimension of social support were positively associated with reappraisal use, but only for youth exposed to fewer lifetime stressors. Marginally significant associations were also found for the reliable alliance dimension and attachment. In contrast, neither overall social support nor any sub-dimension of social support alone was significantly associated with habitual reappraisal use. Together, these findings highlight the potential importance of fostering social support in youth and in considering youths' lifetime stressor exposure when studying risk and resilience processes in adolescent females.

Social support networks and life cycle stage of Venezuelan immigrant families

OBJECTIVE

To understand the structures of social networks of interiorized Venezuelan immigrant families and the life cycle stage they are in.

METHODS

Qualitative multiple-case study with families from the Interiorization Program residing in the Greater Florianópolis, Brazil. Screening occurred through social networks and key informants. For data collection, the photovoice technique and semi-structured interviews were used, categorized with the help of the Atlas.ti software. Genograms and ecomaps were elaborated.

RESULTS

Of the 4 families interviewed, totaling 7 members with young children, the nuclear family was identified as the main informal support network. Formal networks included schools, churches, and civil society.

CONCLUSION

Families rely heavily on their nuclear structure for support, with formal institutions acting as secondary resources. The predominant life cycle stage is focused on families with young children. More efforts are needed to strengthen formal support networks.

Socio-demographic, migratory and health-related determinants of food insecurity among Venezuelan migrants in Peru

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the factors associated with food insecurity (FI) among Venezuelan migrants residing in Peru. Secondarily, to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES).

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study based on secondary data analysis of the 2022 Venezuelan Population Residing in Peru Survey (ENPOVE-2022, from the Spanish acronym) was conducted. FI was measured with the FIES, whose properties were tested using the Rasch model. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to estimate relative prevalence ratios with their corresponding 95 % confidence intervals.

SETTING

This survey was conducted in February and March 2022 in the eight cities most populated by Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Peru.

PARTICIPANTS

Venezuelan migrants and refugees over the age of 18 years living in Peru.

RESULTS

A total of 7727 participants were included. Rasch reliability was adequate (0·73). The prevalence of mild, moderate and severe FI was 36·71 %, 31·14 % and 10·48 %, respectively. Being aged 25-34 and 35-44 years, unemployed, uninsured, having no formal education or secondary, illegal status, living in a dwelling with 2-4 and more than 4 people, presenting one or more than one chronic disease, residing in Peru for 0-6 months and perceived discrimination were associated with a higher probability of moderate FI. Furthermore, having secondary education, being unemployed, uninsured, never married, illegal, residing in Tumbes, presenting one or more than one chronic disease and perceived discrimination were significantly associated with severe FI.

CONCLUSION

Four out of ten Venezuelan migrants residing in Peru presented moderate to severe FI. The FIES showed adequate psychometric properties. Differences in the socio-demographic, health and migratory factors associated with FI levels were found. Inter-sectoral and multi-sectoral interventions are needed and should be focused on addressing the determinants of FI.

Social Support as a Mediator of the Relationship between Identity Fusion and Psychological Well-Being in South-South Migrant Populations

The present study provides evidence of how perceived social support is a mechanism by which identity fusion with the country of origin is associated with psychological well-being in a migrant population. The study design was cross-sectional. We use intentional sampling based on the accessibility of the participants and using the snowball strategy through an online survey. This study included 323 Venezuelan migrants, of whom 176 (54.5%) were women, all residents of the city of Santiago, Chile. The variables assessed were perceived social support, identity fusion, and psychological well-being. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate the proposed mediation model. The estimation method used was robust weighted least squares estimation. The estimated models indicated that perceived social support has a mediating effect on the positive relationship between identity fusion and psychological well-being of Venezuelan migrants residing in Chile. According to these results, feeling a sense of fusion with the country of origin and the perception of having sources of care and protection are factors that may help to improve the psychological well-being of Venezuelan migrants living in Chile. Implications and limitations of these results are discussed.

The Venezuelan diaspora: Migration-related experiences and mental health

Since 2015, the Venezuelan diaspora has poured forth from the Venezuelan sending context into an array of (mostly) middle-income receiving countries and into the United States (US) as well. For many Venezuelan migrants, post-migration reception has been mixed, and multiple studies suggest that mental health is an important challenge with discrimination and negative context reception contributing to mental health burden in terms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress. Cross-national research points to important sociodemographic differences between Venezuelan migrants resettled in South American contexts and in the US, and suggests that-on average-migration-related cultural stress is lower and mental health outcomes are better among those resettling in South Florida and elsewhere in the US.

Social Integration and Health Among Young Migrants in China: Mediated by Social Mentality and Moderated by Gender

Population mobility has been one of the most basic social characteristics of China’s reform and opening up for more than 40 years. As the main labor force in Chinese cities, young migrants have made major contributions toward China’s economic miracle as the country has experienced rapid industrialization and urbanization. However, frequent mobility has caused an imbalanced social mentality in young migrants and often leads to issues with social integration, which has made this group more vulnerable with respect to their health. This study used the 2013 and 2015 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) data of 1,007 young migrants to investigate social mentality mediating the linkage between social integration and health among young migrants. Additionally, to probe the moderating role of gender, multi-group structural equation modeling was applied to test if the pathways in the mediation model differed between young male and female migrants in a significant way. The results suggested that after controlling for the influence of age, marital status, education, and personal annual income, social integration positively impacted the health of young migrants in a significant way; social mentality mediated the action of social integration on this group’s health; and with respect to gender difference, on the three paths of social integration affecting health, social integration affecting social mentality, and social mentality affecting health, young male migrants were more affected than young female migrants. The findings of this study could help improve gender-specific policies on the health of the floating population and offer important theoretical reference and practical suggestions for future research.

Depression and Perceived Social Support among Unemployed Youths in China: Investigating the Roles of Emotion-Regulation Difficulties and Self-Efficacy

In recent years, the issue of youth unemployment has begun to emerge in China. Unemployed young people are at high risk of depression and other mental health problems. The present study investigates influential factors related to depression and examines the possible mediating effects of difficulties in emotion regulation and self-efficacy between perceived social support and depressive symptoms among unemployed youths in China. Through community recruitment, 511 unemployed young people from Shanghai participated in this cross-sectional survey. The results demonstrate that the prevalence of probable depression in the sample was 49.3% (95% CI: 45.0-53.7%). Moreover, we found that both the perceived social support and self-efficacy were significant negative predictors of depression, whereas difficulties in emotion regulation were positive predictors of depression. In addition, the analysis results indicate that difficulties in emotion regulation and self-efficacy partially mediate the relationship between perceived social support and depression. Overall, this cross-sectional study reveals that depression and mental health problems among China's unemployed youths are concerning while identifying emotion-regulation difficulties as a risk factor for these and social support and self-efficacy as protective factors, all of which warrant our attention in preventing and intervening with cases of youth depression.

How Does the Social Support Affect Refugees’ Life Satisfaction in Turkey? Stress as a Mediator, Social Aids and Coronavirus Anxiety as Moderators

The number of refugees has increased exponentially due to international crises, wars, and political pressures in recent years worldwide. Turkey hosts the largest refugee population in the world with 3,672,646 Syrian refugees. This study aimed to examine the relationship among refugees’ stress, life satisfaction, social support, coronavirus anxiety, and social aids they get during the COVID-19 process. We hypothesized that stress, social aids, and coronavirus anxiety could play a role in the relationship between life satisfaction, stress, and social support. A cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from 628 Syrian refugees via an online questionnaire in Turkey. Confirmatory factor, correlation, and multiple regression analyses were conducted. In addition, the moderator and mediator role of variables tested using the 95% bias-corrected confidence interval from 5000 resamples was generated by the bias-corrected bootstrapping method. The study results show that stress partially mediated the relationship between family support and life satisfaction and between friend support and life satisfaction. In addition, coronavirus anxiety had a moderating effect on the relationship between family support and stress and friend support and stress. Finally, social aids moderated the relationship between stress and life satisfaction. In conclusion, the role of social aids, stress, and coronavirus anxiety in the relationship between social support, stress, and life satisfaction has been revealed.