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8 February 2023

11 Pages

Optimism and Intolerance to Uncertainty May Mediate the Negative Effect of Discrimination on Mental Health in Migrant Population

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1
Escuela de Psicología, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta 1270709, Chile
2
Departamento de Psicología, Universidad Católica de Temuco, Temuco 4780000, Chile
3
Instituto de Alta Investigación, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica 1000000, Chile
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Abstract

(1) Background: Migration causes effects on the people who migrate and on the societies that receive them, which can be positive or negative, depending on the characteristics of the interaction. One negative effect is the emergence of mental health disorders associated with the presence of discrimination, a relationship for which there is abundant evidence, although there is less research on factors that may alter this effect. (2) Objective: To evaluate the possible mediating role of optimism and intolerance to uncertainty in the relationship between discrimination and mental health. (3) Method: Nine hundred and nineteen adult Colombian migrants residing in Chile, 49.5% were men and 50.5% women, ages from 18 to 65 years, were evaluated. The Discrimination Experience Scale, BDI-IA Inventory, BAI, LOT-R and the Intolerance to Uncertainty Scale were applied. The effects were estimated using structural equation modeling. (4) Results: A mediating effect of both dispositional optimism and intolerance to uncertainty on the relationship between discrimination and mental symptomatology was observed. (5) Conclusions: The impact on individual suffering and the social cost of mental health problems require investigating variables on the relationship between discrimination and mental health, including mediators of this relationship, which turn out to be central elements in the development of future strategies for the reduction of anxiety and depression symptoms.

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