TY - JOUR
T1 - Working and Living Conditions and Psychological Distress in Latino Migrant Day Laborers
AU - Organista, Kurt C.
AU - Jung, Woojin
AU - Neilands, Torsten B.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The study was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (5R01AA017592-04; Principal Investigator: Kurt C. Organista).
PY - 2019/8/1
Y1 - 2019/8/1
N2 - Background. Little research has been conducted on relations between challenging working and living conditions and psychological distress in Latino migrant day laborers (LMDLs), a particularly marginalized Latino population in the United States. Aims. Consistent with a structural-environmental framework of LMDL vulnerability to health and mental health problems, this study tests a model of hypothesized pathways between working and living conditions and multiple forms of psychological distress. Method. Structural equation modeling was used to test the conceptual model with 344 LMDLs who participated in a cross-sectional survey in the San Francisco Bay Area. Results. As hypothesized, results reveal pathways between (1) working and living conditions; (2) working and living conditions and depression, as well as desesperación (desperation), the latter a Latino cultural idiom of distress frequently expressed by LMDLs; and (3) between living conditions and alcohol use. Discussion. Findings increase understanding regarding how challenging working and living conditions contribute to the same, as well as different, forms of psychological distress in LMDLs. Conclusions. Implications for mitigating structural vulnerability to psychological distress can be addressed at multiple social-ecological levels ranging from community-based support for enhancing LMDL employment (e.g., via day labor centers) to expanding the availability of work authorization for undocumented workers.
AB - Background. Little research has been conducted on relations between challenging working and living conditions and psychological distress in Latino migrant day laborers (LMDLs), a particularly marginalized Latino population in the United States. Aims. Consistent with a structural-environmental framework of LMDL vulnerability to health and mental health problems, this study tests a model of hypothesized pathways between working and living conditions and multiple forms of psychological distress. Method. Structural equation modeling was used to test the conceptual model with 344 LMDLs who participated in a cross-sectional survey in the San Francisco Bay Area. Results. As hypothesized, results reveal pathways between (1) working and living conditions; (2) working and living conditions and depression, as well as desesperación (desperation), the latter a Latino cultural idiom of distress frequently expressed by LMDLs; and (3) between living conditions and alcohol use. Discussion. Findings increase understanding regarding how challenging working and living conditions contribute to the same, as well as different, forms of psychological distress in LMDLs. Conclusions. Implications for mitigating structural vulnerability to psychological distress can be addressed at multiple social-ecological levels ranging from community-based support for enhancing LMDL employment (e.g., via day labor centers) to expanding the availability of work authorization for undocumented workers.
KW - Latino migrant day laborers
KW - living conditions
KW - psychological distress
KW - structural vulnerability
KW - working conditions
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U2 - 10.1177/1090198119831753
DO - 10.1177/1090198119831753
M3 - Article
C2 - 30829088
AN - SCOPUS:85062466526
SN - 1090-1981
VL - 46
SP - 637
EP - 647
JO - Health Education and Behavior
JF - Health Education and Behavior
IS - 4
ER -