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The Correlation of English Language Proficiency and Indices of Stress and Anxiety in Migrants from Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria: A Preliminary Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2019

Yonatan Carl ,
Rosa L. Frias Open the ORCID record for Rosa L. Frias [Opens in a new window] ,
Sara Kurtevski ,
Tamara González Copo ,
Ana R. Mustafa ,
Cristina M. Font Open the ORCID record for Cristina M. Font [Opens in a new window] ,
Andrew R. Blundell ,
Elsa C. Rodriguez  and
Ruth Sacasa
Yonatan Carl*
Affiliation:
San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas, Puerto Rico
Rosa L. Frias
Affiliation:
San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas, Puerto Rico
Sara Kurtevski
Affiliation:
San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas, Puerto Rico
Tamara González Copo
Affiliation:
San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas, Puerto Rico
Ana R. Mustafa
Affiliation:
San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas, Puerto Rico
Cristina M. Font
Affiliation:
San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas, Puerto Rico
Andrew R. Blundell
Affiliation:
San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas, Puerto Rico
Elsa C. Rodriguez
Affiliation:
San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas, Puerto Rico
Ruth Sacasa
Affiliation:
San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas, Puerto Rico
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Yonatan Carl, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Salida 21, Carr. 12, Urb. Turabo Gardens, Caguas, Puerto Rico 00726 (e-mail: [email protected]).
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Abstract

Objective:

Using validated psychological assessment instruments, this study examined the psychological distress associated with potential language barriers experienced by over 135 000 Puerto Rican residents who either temporarily or permanently migrated to the continental United States with the landfall of Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Methods:

Participants were Puerto Rican residents (n = 107) who remained in Puerto Rico (control) or left the island for at least 3 months because of Hurricane Maria (migrants). Participants completed an online survey in their preferred language (Spanish or English), which assessed self-reported English language proficiency, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM 5, Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item depression scale, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale. It was hypothesized that migrants with lower self-reported English proficiency would have comparatively higher indices of post-disaster distress than those with a higher proficiency.

Results:

Dividing the migrant group by preferred language for questionnaire completion, the Fisher’s exact test showed significant differences in prevalence of severe mental distress, as defined by K6 scores above 13, between the Spanish-preferring migrants (30.4%), English-preferring migrants (0%), and controls (9.6%).

Conclusion:

Our results support a possible correlation between decreased language proficiency in post-disaster migrants and a higher risk factor for severe mental distress.

Keywords

hurricanehuman migrationmental disorderslanguagePuerto Rico
Type
Brief Report
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 14 , Issue 1 , February 2020 , pp. 23 - 27
Copyright
© 2019 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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Footnotes

Mr Carl and Ms Frias both contributed equally to this work.

References

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