(PS3-82) Adverse Crisis Migration Experiences and Mental Health Among Resettled Venezuelan Youth in the US: The Roles of Context, Culture and Community

Abstract Text: In 2022, the United Nations (UN) reported that over 100 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced, with children accounting for 40% of these forcibly displaced people. In recent years, Venezuela, in particular, has faced large numbers of people fleeing, with a reported 7.7. million having left Venezuela since 2015. Migrant youth coming from Venezuela have often been exposed to desperate levels of economic insecurity resulting in vast resource scarcity (e.g., food). Migration patterns from Venezuela to the U.S. have dramatically increased in the last few years, underscoring the specific urgency to better understand the mental health needs and protective strengths of recently arriving Venezuelan youth in the U.S. In the present study we examined the effects of adverse crisis migration experiences on anxiety and traumatic stress in a sample of recently resettled Venezuelan youth in the U.S. (N=302; aged 12-17), as well as the potential roles that culture, context and community can play in buffering these effects. Youth completed self-report questionnaires assessing their crisis migration experiences before migration, their current mental health and adjustment in the U.S., and key aspects of their cultural identity and new community. Six general linear models (GLM) were estimated to examine the potential moderating roles of collective efficacy (community cohesion), ethnic pride (cultural identity) and negative context of reception (contextual stressor) in the links between adverse crisis migration experiences and youth traumatic stress and anxiety symptoms. Main effects and interaction terms among variables were examined. Higher order interaction tests found that the link between adverse crisis migration experiences and subsequent trauma symptoms was moderated by negative context of reception (b= 2.57, p=.012), such that the more that migrant youth felt unwelcome in their new neighborhoods and schools, the more likely adverse crisis migration experiences were to result in traumatic stress symptoms. Results highlight the importance of a welcoming community for fostering positive adjustment in recently arrived migrant youth, and the positive roles schools and neighborhoods can play in buffering against the negative impacts of adverse crisis migration experiences. Limitations and future directions are discussed.