RESUMO
In the aftermath of Hurricane María's devastating impact on Puerto Rico in September 2017, a wave of migration to the continental United States followed. Despite Puerto Rico's territorial association with the United States, its distinct culture and language often render its migrants as cultural minorities who are often treated as foreigners. Prior research has indicated that natural disasters can have a profound effect on the family unit, so examining the experiences of displacement and resettlement of Puerto Rican parents can shed light on the challenges faced by these families. Using cultural stress theory and psychological sense of community as guiding frameworks, this qualitative study aimed to explore the experience of Puerto Rican parents displaced to the United States following Hurricane María. A total of 42 Puerto Rican Hurricane María migrant parents agreed to participate in semistructured interviews. Our findings illuminate a trade-off in the lives of Puerto Rican migrants: As they departed their homeland, they exchanged social connections, support networks, and the vibrant social fabric of Puerto Rico for the promise of economic stability, reduced crime, and enhanced prospects for themselves and their children in the United States. This study represents a crucial contribution to the understanding of Puerto Ricans who have embarked on the challenging journey of relocating in the aftermath of Hurricane María. It underscores how they grapple with the multifaceted challenges and benefits inherent in their roles as cross-cultural climate migrants, transitioning from the predominantly Spanish-speaking, Latin American context of Puerto Rico to the diverse landscape of the United States. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
RESUMO
On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico, devastating the archipelago and forcing thousands of Puerto Ricans to migrate to the U.S. mainland. Guided by a cultural stress theory framework, the present mixed method study examined how various cultural stressors impact participants' daily interactions and mental health outcomes. A total of 319 adult Hurricane Maria survivors residing on the U.S. mainland participated in the study. A mixed method sequential explanatory design was used. First, we used latent profile analysis (LPA) and multinomial logistic regression to identify the varied cultural stress experiences that participants had. Then we used data from semistructured interviews to better understand the experiences of participants classified into the different LPA profiles. Four profiles were identified: "moderate cultural stress" (35%), "overall low" (29%), "high cultural stress" (26%), and "low language stress" (10%). Multinomial regression indicated that members of the moderate cultural stress, high cultural stress, and low language stress profiles all reported significantly higher depressive and anxiety symptoms compared to members of the overall low profile. Qualitative data exemplified the daily experiences of participants placed into each profile, demonstrating that participants have rich and varied experiences that can contribute to their mental health symptoms. The present study documents the contributions of hurricane trauma and cultural stress vis-à-vis current mental health symptoms. Clinicians working with Hurricane Maria survivors should be cognizant of and inquire about migration-related cultural stressors including discrimination, feelings of being unwelcomed, and difficulty communicating in the destination community's dominant language. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).