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How do pre-migration crisis exposures and post-migration cultural stressors shape mental health symptoms among Venezuelan youth in the United States and Colombia?

Author

Listed:
  • Lee, Seo Woo
  • Salas-Wright, Christopher P.
  • Maldonado-Molina, Mildred M.
  • Lee, Tae Kyoung
  • Calderón, Ivonne A.
  • Pérez-Gómez, Augusto
  • Mejía-Trujillo, Juliana
  • Bates, Melissa M.
  • Oh, Sehun
  • Vo, Duyen H.
  • Alpysbekova, Aigerim
  • Andrade, Patricia
  • Rodríguez, José
  • Schwartz, Seth J.

Abstract

Pre-migration crisis exposures and post-migration cultural stressors predict mental health symptoms among Venezuelan migrant youth. However, less is known about the independent and interactive effects of pre- and post-migration stressors on multiple mental health symptoms and whether these associations vary across specific types of cultural stressors among Venezuelan youth. Importantly, few studies have examined how these associations are patterned across two major destinations for Venezuelan migrants—the United States (US) and Colombia. The present study was designed to examine how pre-migration crisis exposures and post-migration cultural stressors (acculturative stress, discrimination, and negative context of reception) independently and interactively predict depressive, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among Venezuelan youth resettling in the US and Colombia. The sample included 732 Venezuelan youth: 302 in the US (51% girls; Mage = 14.03, SD = 1.69) and 430 in Colombia (49.4% girls; Mage = 14.04, SD = 1.62). Pre-migration crisis exposures did not predict any of the mental health symptoms in either country. Discrimination positively predicted depressive and anxiety symptoms in the US, whereas acculturative stress positively predicted depressive and anxiety symptoms in Colombia. Significant interaction effects emerged in both countries, such that pre-migration crisis exposures buffered the associations of post-migration cultural stressors with mental health symptoms. Specifically, in the US, pre-migration crisis exposure moderated the association between discrimination and PTSD symptoms, whereas in Colombia, it moderated the association between acculturative stress and depressive symptoms. Findings underscore the need to account for the types of cultural stressors and symptom dimensions across different destination contexts among Venezuelan youth.

Suggested Citation

  • Lee, Seo Woo & Salas-Wright, Christopher P. & Maldonado-Molina, Mildred M. & Lee, Tae Kyoung & Calderón, Ivonne A. & Pérez-Gómez, Augusto & Mejía-Trujillo, Juliana & Bates, Melissa M. & Oh, Sehun & Vo, 2026. "How do pre-migration crisis exposures and post-migration cultural stressors shape mental health symptoms among Venezuelan youth in the United States and Colombia?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 403(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:403:y:2026:i:c:s027795362600482x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.119406
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