Faculty Affiliate Joaquín Alfredo-Angel Rubalcaba, Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is co-author of a new article titled “Farmwork and family: How mixed-status families influence the mental health of foreign-born farmworkers” in SSM – Mental Health.
The study explores how immigration-status dynamics within farmworker families relate to depressive symptoms, using data from the National Agricultural Workers Survey. It finds that unauthorized parents in mixed-status households (where children are U.S.-born citizens) report significantly fewer depressive symptoms than their counterparts in non-mixed-status families—suggesting that citizen children may serve as a protective factor. The researchers also highlight that these same families may face unique stressors, such as amplified fears of family separation and uncertainty.
Read the full article here: Farmwork and family: How mixed-status families influence the mental health of foreign born farmworkers