Crossing Clinical Borders: Anxiety and Depression in U.S. Citizen Children after Parental Deportation or Coercive Relocation

Parental deportation and coerced voluntary relocation of Mexican-origin families from the USA to Mexico have been increasing since the second half of the last decade, yet little is known about the mental health and well-being of United States Citizen Children (USCC) relocated to Mexico after experiencing parental deportation or a coerced voluntary relocation. This mixed-methods study was performed to understand more about the adaptation process and well-being of USCC relocated to Mexico and to explore whether experiencing parental deportation was associated with clinical symptoms of depression and anxiety. Study participants were 36 USCC relocated to Mexico (50% experienced parental deportation, 50% females, Age x¯ = 11.31, SD = 1.80 months in Mexico x¯ = 9.91, SD = 5.69). Close to half of the participants presented clinical symptoms of either depression or anxiety. Bayesian ANCOVAs identified higher overall anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, and school avoidance symptoms in USCC who experienced parental deportation. Bayesian logistic regressions identified how experiencing parental deportation meaningfully increased the log odds of presenting clinical symptoms of depression and anxiety for USCC. The five salient themes discussed were grief over loss, parental prohibition from entering the USA, adaptation process, emotional response to adaptation, and worry. Clinical implications and future directions for research are discussed.