A longitudinal analysis of cross-border ties and depression for Latino adults. (July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Torres, Jacqueline M.; Lee, Anne; González, Hector M.; Garcia, Lorena; Haan, Mary N.
• Is Part Of: Social science & medicine. Volume 160(2016)
• Page Start: 111
• Page End: 119
• Publication Date: 2016-07
• Subjects: Social ties -- Cross-border ties -- Transnationalism -- Latinos -- Depressive symptoms; Social medicine -- Periodicals; Medical anthropology -- Periodicals; Public health -- Periodicals; Psychology -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Periodicals; Médecine sociale -- Périodiques; Anthropologie médicale -- Périodiques; Santé publique -- Périodiques; Psychologie -- Périodiques; Médecine -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 362.105
• DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.04.018
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0277-9536

Abstract

Abstract: Recent scholarship suggests a significant association between cross-border ties, or ties maintained with family and friends in countries and communities of origin, and the mental health of immigrants and their descendants. To date, this research has been exclusively cross-sectional, precluding conclusions about a causal association between cross-border ties and mental health outcomes. In the present study we undertake a longitudinal analysis of the relationship between cross-border ties and depression measured over a ten-year period for a sample of immigrant and U.S.-born Latinos. Data are from the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging (1998–2008), a population-based, prospective study of Latin American-origin adults 60 years and older. We find that cross-border ties reported at baseline were significantly associated with depression in subsequent study waves, even after controlling for the presence of depression at baseline, albeit with substantial differences by gender and nativity. Specifically, communication with family and friends in Latin America and travel to Latin America at baseline were each significantly associated with greater odds of depression for immigrant women, but with lower odds of depression for U.S.-born Latina women over the study period. Travel to Latin America at baseline was significantly associated with lower odds of depression for Latino men across the study. Across all models we control for depressive symptomatology at baseline to account for the reciprocal nature of depressive symptoms and engagement with social ties, including cross-border ties. Our findings suggest that cross-border ties may represent a unique source of both resilience and risk for the long-term mental health of immigrant Latinos and their descendants. Highlights: We use longitudinal data on cross-border ties and depression for older Latino adults. Baseline cross-border ties are significantly associated with depression at follow-up. The direction of the associations differ by gender and nativity. Cross-border social ties may be both a risk and protective factor for mental health.