Interplay of premigration crisis exposure and postmigration cultural stress on depressive symptoms among Venezuelan crisis migrants in Colombia.

Abstract

Objectives: A growing body of research points to a relationship between exposure to migration-related cultural stress and mental health problems. However, such research is often conducted with the tacit assumption that postmigration experiences are the primary-if not singular-driver of psychological distress. In the present study, we aim to extend the cultural-stress paradigm by examining the influences of both premigration crisis exposure and postmigration cultural stress on depression in a sample of Venezuelan crisis migrants in Colombia.

Method: Survey data for the present study were collected from Venezuelan youth (N = 429, ages 12-17, M_age = 14.0 years, 49% female) and adults (N = 566, ages 18+, M_age = 35.1 years, 82% female) in Bogota and Medellin, Colombia between April and June 2023.

Results: Both crisis exposure and discrimination were independently related to depressive symptoms. However, when examined in a multivariate model along with discrimination, crisis exposure was not a significant predictor of depressive symptoms among youth, and its influence weakened considerably among adults. Among both youth and adults, a Crisis Exposure × Discrimination interaction term significantly predicted depressive symptoms, indicating that discrimination was a more robust predictor of depressive symptoms among those endorsing lower levels of crisis exposure than among those reporting high levels of crisis exposure.

Conclusion: Our research provides new insights into the experiences of Venezuelan migrant youth and adults in Colombia. It provides further support for the importance of drawing from a crisis-informed cultural-stress framework when working with crisis migrant populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).