Impact of perceived discrimination and coping strategies on well-being and mental health in newly-arrived migrants in Spain

PLoS One. 2023 Dec 22;18(12):e0294295. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0294295. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Objectives: To explore how perceived discrimination impacts the emotional well-being and mental health of newly-arrived migrants in Spain; and to identify the coping strategies and behavioral changes used to deal with perceived discrimination.

Design: 102 individual audio-recorded in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed through content analysis.

Results: Negative emotions related to perceived discrimination included disgust, sadness, fear, loneliness, humiliation, sense of injustice, rage, feeling undervalued or vulnerable, and mixed emotions. Change in behaviors due to perceived discrimination comprised westernization or cultural assimilation, creating a good image, avoiding going out or leaving alone, hypervigilance, stop participating in politics, self-sufficiency, a positive adaptation, and paradoxically, becoming an oppressor. The identified coping strategies to deal with perceived discrimination were ignoring or not responding, isolation, self-medication, engagement in intellectual activities, leisure and sport, talking or insulting the oppressor, denouncement, physical fight or revenge, seeking comfort, increasing solidarity with others, crying, or using humor. Discrimination-related stress and related mental health problems were conveyed, as challenges related to substance abuse and addictive behaviors, mood, and anxiety.

Conclusions: Findings establish initial evidence of the great impact of perceived discrimination on the health, emotional well-being, and behavior of newly-arrived migrants in Spain, alerting to the need for targeted policies and services to address the effects of discrimination in this population. Further research is needed to explore more closely the causes and effects of perceived discrimination on mental health, to develop more targeted and effective interventions.

MeSH terms

  • Adaptation, Psychological
  • Coping Skills
  • Humans
  • Mental Health*
  • Perceived Discrimination
  • Spain
  • Transients and Migrants*

Grants and funding

ALP, BMM, MCAB, YH, RHE, FV, and IBM work was endorsed by the project (II IN 200803 EN 162 FA 01), financed by the Spanish Ministry of Labor, Migrations and Social Security with the support of the European Commission (https://www.inclusion.gob.es/web/migraciones/fami). AGP work was financed by the Secretariat of Universities and Research of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the European Social Fund (2021 FI_B00839). PCN's work was supported by Sara Borell (CD20/00035) and financed by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, publication decisions, or manuscript preparation.