Report of the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration PDF
Preview Report of the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration
Running head: CROSSROADS: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF IMMIGRATION 1 2 3 4 Crossroads: 5 The Psychology of Immigration in the New Century 6 7 Report of the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Confidential: Not for circulation 18 Not yet received by the APA Council of Representatives (Scheduled on February 24-‐26) 19 20 21 American Psychological Association 22 750 First Street, NE 23 Washington, DC 20002 24 CROSSROADS: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF IMMIGRATION Exhibit 1 1 APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration 2 3 4 Carola Suárez-‐Orozco, PhD, Chair 5 New York University 6 7 Dina Birman, PhD 8 University of Illinois at Chicago 9 10 J. Manuel Casas, PhD 11 University of California, Santa Barbara 12 13 Nadine Nakamura, PhD 14 University of La Verne 15 16 Pratyusha Tummala-‐Narra, PhD 17 Boston College 18 19 Michael Zárate, PhD 20 University of Texas, El Paso 21 22 Melba Vasquez, PhD (ex officio) 23 2011 APA President 24 Vasquez & Associates Mental Health Services 25 26 Children, Youth, and Families Office 27 Mary Campbell, Director 28 Alex Agiliga 29 Efua Andoh 30 Amani Chatman 31 Kaitlin Varner 32 2 CROSSROADS: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF IMMIGRATION Exhibit 1 1 Table of Contents 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 5 3 PREFACE 7 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9 5 INTRODUCTION 27 6 Purpose 27 7 Context for This Report 27 8 Guiding Frameworks 29 9 Contents and Organization of This Report 35 10 11 THE WHY AND WHO OF IMMIGRATION 39 12 What Propels Migration? 39 13 Demographic Contours of the U.S. Immigrant-‐Origin Population 42 14 THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF RECEPTION AND IMMIGRANT ADAPTATION 50 15 Ideologies of Assimilation Versus Multiculturalism 51 16 Research on Assimilationist and Multicultural Ideologies 52 17 The Immigration Debate, Xenophobia, and Discrimination 54 18 Neighborhood and Community Contexts 57 19 In Conclusion 59 20 21 ADAPTATION: ACCULTURATION, CULTURAL IDENTITY, AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT 61 22 Acculturation 61 23 Acculturation and Mental Health 65 24 Intergenerational Differences in Acculturation 68 25 Social Trust and Civic Engagement 69 26 In Conclusion 71 27 POPULATIONS FACING UNIQUE CHALLENGES 73 28 Women and Girls 73 29 Undocumented Immigrants and Their Children 76 30 The Refugee and Asylum Seeker Populations 85 31 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Immigrants 87 32 Immigrants with Disabilities 90 33 In Conclusion 92 34 LIFESPAN CONSIDERATIONS 93 35 Children and Adolescents 94 36 Young Adults 96 37 Adults 98 38 Older Adults 100 39 In Conclusion 103 40 3 CROSSROADS: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF IMMIGRATION Exhibit 1 1 ASSESSMENT WITH IMMIGRANT-‐ORIGIN ADULTS AND CHILDREN 104 2 Challenges in Assessing Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations 104 3 Assessment in Educational Settings 106 4 Assessment in Clinical Settings 110 5 Assessment in Forensic and Legal Settings 112 6 In Conclusion 114 7 IMMIGRANT POPULATIONS IN EDUCATIONAL CONTEXTS 116 8 A Resilience Perspective 116 9 Context Matters 119 10 Language-‐Related Educational Challenges and Models of Language Instruction 121 11 School Belonging 125 12 Parent Involvement 126 13 In Conclusion 127 14 IMMIGRANT POPULATIONS IN CLINICAL CONTEXTS 132 15 A Resilience Perspective 132 16 Context Matters 135 17 Presenting Problems 136 18 Barriers to Treatment 142 19 Treatment Considerations 145 20 Intervention 147 21 In Conclusion 155 22 CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE FIELD 160 23 Methodological Challenges 161 24 A Metadisciplinary Reflection 166 25 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 167 26 Research 167 27 Services and Supports 168 28 Education and Training 170 29 Collaboration and Advocacy 171 30 31 APPENDIX A: GLOSSARY 173 32 REFERENCES 183 33 4 CROSSROADS: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF IMMIGRATION Exhibit 1 1 Acknowledgments 2 First of all, the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration extends its heartfelt thanks to Melba 3 Vasquez, PhD (2011 APA President) for providing them the opportunity to address the topic of 4 immigration which is of immense importance to the field of psychology and also for her continual 5 guidance and support from the report’s inception. 6 7 The Task Force would also like to express gratitude to the following individuals for their thoughtful and 8 substantive input and comments on the report during its extensive review process. 9 10 External Experts 11 12 Ricardo Ainslie, PhD 22 Loreto Prieto, PhD 13 Margarita Alegría, PhD 23 Antonio Puente, PhD 14 Gonzalo Bacigalupe, EdD, MPH 24 Mihaela Robila, PhD 15 Sandra Barrueco, PhD 25 Guy Seymour, PhD 16 Joseph Cervantes, PhD 26 Marcelo Suárez-‐Orozco, PhD 17 Lillian Comas-‐Diaz, PhD 27 Lisa Suzuki, PhD 18 Oliva Espin, PhD 28 David Thronson, JD 19 Pam Flattau, PhD 29 Alberto Valencia, EdD 20 Richard Lee, PhD 30 Christauria Welland, PsyD 21 Alejandro Morales, PhD 31 Hirokazu Yoshikawa, PhD 32 33 The Task Force also very much appreciates the reviews and contributions made by the following 34 divisions and governance groups throughout the report’s development: 35 36 Representatives of APA Divisions 37 38 8 -‐Personality and Social Psychology 39 20 -‐ Adult Development and Aging 40 37 -‐ Society of Child and Family Policy and Practice 41 43 -‐ Society for Family Psychology 42 45 -‐ Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues 43 48 -‐ Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence: Peace Psychology Division 44 51 -‐ Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity 45 52 -‐ International Psychology 46 54 -‐ Society for Pediatric Psychology 47 56 -‐ Trauma Psychology 48 49 Representatives of APA Governance Groups 50 51 Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest 52 Board of Educational Affairs 53 Board of Professional Affairs 54 Board of Scientific Affairs 55 Committee on Aging 56 Committee on Children, Youth, and Families 57 Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology 5 CROSSROADS: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF IMMIGRATION Exhibit 1 1 Committee on Division/APA Relations 2 Committee on Early Career Psychologists 3 Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs 4 Committee on International Relations in Psychology 5 Committee on Legal Issues 6 Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns 7 Ad-‐Hoc Committee on Psychology and AIDS 8 Committee on Psychology Teachers at Community Colleges 9 Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment 10 Committee on Rural Health 11 Committee on Socioeconomic Status 12 Committee of Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools 13 Committee on Women in Psychology 14 Membership Board 15 Policy and Planning Board 16 17 Finally, the Task Force also received vital assistance in background research and editing from the 18 following individuals: 19 20 • Efua Andoh (APA Public Interest Directorate) 21 • Kerry Bolger, PhD (APA Public Interest Government Relations Office) 22 • Diane Elmore, PhD (APA Public Interest Government Relations Office) 23 • Gwendolyn Puryear Keita, PhD (Executive Director, APA Public Interest Directorate) 24 • Benjamin Vonachen (APA Public Interest Government Relations Office) 25 • Cathy Grus, PhD (Deputy Executive Director, APA Education Directorate) 26 • Rena Subotnik, PhD (Associate Executive Director, APA Education Directorate) 27 • Heather Kelly, PhD (APA Science Government Relations Office) 28 • Karen Studwell, PhD (APA Science Government Relations Office) 29 • Gabriele McCormick, MFA (External editor) 30 • Loy McGaughy (External editor) 31 • Mona Abo-‐Zena, PhD (Tufts University) 32 • Tasha Darbes (New York University) 33 • Sandra Diaz (New York University) 34 • Nonie Leseaux, PhD (Harvard Graduate School of Education) 35 • Marie Onaga, MEd (New York University) 36 • Andres Pumariega, MD (Reading Hospital) 37 • Sukhmani Singh (New York University) 6 CROSSROADS: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF IMMIGRATION Exhibit 1 1 PREFACE 2 Melba J. T. Vasquez, PhD, ABPP 3 President, American Psychological Association, 2011 4 5 One of the benefits of serving as president of the American Psychological Association is the opportunity 6 to select projects or initiatives that are meaningful to that president. The topic of immigration surfaced 7 as a priority for me and was a topic of concern of many with whom I spoke. Over the past few decades, 8 psychology and APA in particular has periodically applied its psychological science and knowledge to 9 issues of societal interest and social justice that may be the subject of media attention, pending 10 legislation, and/or court proceedings. At times, the societal context and political focus on social 11 problems has influenced topics of study in the APA. Immigration fell in that category, in my view. In 12 addition, although I am fourth generation Mexican-‐American (my parents were both born in the United 13 States, and my mother’s family lived in the Texas area when it was still part of Mexico), I identify 14 personally with the community of immigrants. 15 16 Immigrants significantly contribute to the ever-‐expanding diversity of the population of the United 17 States. Further, many challenges have resulted from inadequate federal immigration policy as well as 18 anti-‐immigration legislation in several states. My Presidential Task Force on Immigration, chaired by 19 Carola Suarez-‐Orozco, PhD, was charged with developing an evidence-‐based report on the psychological 20 factors related to the immigration experience. Our hope is that increased understanding of the 21 psychological factors related to various aspects of the immigrant experience will improve decision 22 making with regard to immigration. The importance of effective integration of immigrants in 23 educational, work, and community settings is essential for the well-‐being of this country’s future. 24 25 A call for potential task force members was sent out, and we were very pleased to have 99 experts 26 respond who were interested in serving on the work group. Unfortunately, we could only choose six 27 members. These six task force members selected represent a high level of expertise in various areas of 28 research and study of the immigrant population. Other nominees were invited to serve on an advisory 29 committee, and I am grateful that many provided reviews of drafts of this report. I am tremendously 30 appreciative for the dedication and expertise provided by the task force members, advisors as well as 31 APA staff members who devoted a significant part of their working life to contribute to this important 32 project. 7 CROSSROADS: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF IMMIGRATION Exhibit 1 1 2 Their report describes, in broad strokes the diverse population of immigrants and then addresses the 3 psychological experience of immigration considering factors that impede and facilitate adjustment. 4 Specifically, the report reviews the recent theoretical and empirical literature on immigration with the 5 goals of raising awareness about this growing but poorly understood group; deriving evidence-‐informed 6 recommendations for the provision of psychological services for the immigrant-‐origin population; and 7 providing recommendations for the advancement of training, research, and policy efforts for immigrant 8 children, adults, older adults and families. 9 10 This report represents the current state of psychological scientific and professional knowledge that 11 informs us all with regard to immigration. In particular, I hope that widespread negative views of 12 immigrants and their children will be informed and challenged by the increasing data available in the 13 literature, rather than by ideological impulses, serving to reduce the “disconnect” between research and 14 policy. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Confidential: Not for circulation 22 Not yet received by the APA Council of Representatives (Scheduled on February 24-‐26) 23 8 CROSSROADS: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF IMMIGRATION Exhibit 1 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 3 The United States today has approximately 39.9 million immigrants —the largest number in its 4 history (Passel & Cohn, 2012; U.S. Census Bureau, 2011c). As a nation of immigrants, the U.S. has 5 successfully negotiated larger proportions of newcomers in its past (14.7% in 1910 vs. 12.9% today) and 6 is far from alone among post-‐industrial countries to experience a growth in immigration in recent 7 decades. Notably, nearly three quarters of the foreign-‐born are naturalized citizens or authorized 8 noncitizens (Congressional Budget Office, 2011). One in five persons currently residing in the United 9 States is a first-‐ or second-‐generation immigrant and nearly a quarter of children under the age of 18 10 have an immigrant parent (Mather, 2009). As such, immigrants and the second generation have become 11 a significant part of our national tapestry. 12 Just as this demographic transformation is rapidly unfolding, our nation is facing international, 13 domestic, and economic crises (Massey, 2010). Like in other periods of historical economic downturns 14 (Simon, 1985), today’s recession has served as a catalyst to make immigration a divisive social and 15 political issue (Massey & Sanchez, 2010). Across the nation, immigrants have become the subject of 16 negative media coverage (Massey, 2010; Suro, 2011), hate crimes (Leadership Conference on Civil Rights 17 Education Fund, 2009), and exclusionary political legislation (Carter, Lawrence, & Morse, 2011). Given 18 the demographic growth, however, we now face an “integration imperative” (Alba, Sloan, & Sperling, 19 2011) — not only for the well-‐being of this new population, but also for that of our nation’s social and 20 economic future. 21 Psychologists are, and increasingly will be, serving immigrant adults and their children in a 22 variety of settings, including schools, community centers, clinics, and hospitals, and thus, should be 23 aware of this complex demographic transformation and consider its implications as citizens, 24 practitioners, researchers, and faculty. This report aims specifically to describe this diverse population 9 CROSSROADS: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF IMMIGRATION Exhibit 1 1 and address the psychological experience of immigration, considering factors that impede and facilitate 2 adjustment. This report on the recent theoretical and empirical literature on immigrants: (a) raises 3 awareness about this growing (but poorly understood) population; (b) derives evidence-‐informed 4 recommendations for the provision of psychological services for the immigrant-‐origin population; and 5 (c) makes recommendations for the advancement of training, research, and policy efforts for immigrant 6 children, adults, older adults, and families. 7 8 Guiding Frameworks 9 There are three guiding principles throughout this report. First, immigrants are resilient and 10 resourceful. Second, immigrants, like all human beings, are influenced by their social contexts; as such 11 the report takes an ecological perspective in framing their experience. Third, as it is essential to utilize 12 the lens of culture with the evermore-‐diverse immigrant-‐origin population, the report follows the APA 13 Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for 14 Psychologists (APA, 2002). 15 Immigrant resilience. Within political and media discourse, immigration is generally framed as a 16 social problem in need of solving (Suárez-‐Orozco, Louie, & Suro, 2011). Yet a careful reading of the 17 research from a variety of disciplines suggests immigrants demonstrate a remarkable pattern of 18 strengths (APA, 2007; Chiswick, 2011; Hernandez & Charney, 1998). This body of data that examines the 19 well-‐being of immigrant-‐origin populations across generations reveals a counterintuitive pattern that 20 contradicts conventional expectations: first-‐generation immigrant populations demonstrate the best 21 performance on a variety of physical health (Morales, Lara, Kington, Valdez, & Escarce, 2002), behavioral 22 health (Pumariega, Rothe, & Pumariega, 2005; Takeuchi, Hong, Gile, & Alegría, 2007), and some 23 educational outcomes (Fuligni & Witkow, 2004; García-‐Coll & Marks, 2011; Suárez-‐Orozco & Suárez-‐ 24 Orozco, 1995), followed by a decline in subsequent generations. Although many recently arrived 10
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