Political Rhetoric on Immigration Found to Affect Mental Health

Politicians and pundits may want to consider the emotional impact their words have not only on the groups they’re targeting, but also on the nation as a whole. A study on immigration rhetoric in Social Science & Medicine finds that negative rhetoric can cause feelings of hurt, anger, and distress in its targets, but positive rhetoric fosters perceptions of greater health, well-being and feelings of belonging.

Leo R. Chavez, Ph.D., and colleagues at the University of California, Irvine, examined the impact of political rhetoric on 280 Mexican-origin young adults (average age approximately 21 years). Study participants were born in Mexico or had at least one ancestor who was born in Mexico. The researchers collected data between August 2016 and June 2017.

Participants were randomly divided into three groups. One group viewed positive rhetoric, such as a snippet of former President Barack H. Obama’s 2011 State of the Union address in which he described immigrant students as talented, responsible young people who could enrich the nation. One group viewed negative rhetoric, such as President Donald J. Trump’s campaign-trail characterization of Mexicans who come to the U.S. as drug carriers, criminals, and rapists. The control group viewed neutral rhetoric about the color of university buildings. The researchers then asked participants open-ended questions about their feelings and reactions to what they had viewed; participants further indicated their feelings on several rating scales.

Participants who viewed political rhetoric of both types reacted strongly compared with participants who viewed neutral rhetoric. Participants who viewed positive rhetoric reported higher positive emotions and perceptions of health and well-being and lower levels of perceived stress. They used words such as proud, contribute, good, happy, community, benefit, work, success, empower, and help to describe their reactions.

In contrast, negative rhetoric was associated with higher negative emotions and perceived levels of stress and lower perceptions of health and well-being. Participants in this group used words like racist/racism, stereotype, sad, angry, upset, ignorant, offended/offensive, unfair, hate, discrimination, and hurt to describe their feelings.

“These findings suggest that negative political rhetoric about immigrants and Mexican-origin people adversely affected the emotions and the mental health of the targets of the rhetoric. Such rhetoric elicits feelings of hurt, anger, distress, and anxiety,” Chavez and colleagues wrote.

In their conclusion, the researchers noted the broad impact of political rhetoric on the nation. “When words wound, they tear at the body of the nation, creating divisions that reinforce systems of prejudice and inequality,” they wrote. “On the other hand, … moderating political rhetoric could have a salutatory effect not just on the targets of that rhetoric but for the nation as a whole. … [It] can be integrative, enhancing a sense of community and belonging, and easing stress about one's relationship to the larger society.” 

For related information, see the Psychiatric News article, “APA Maintains Pressure on Administration Regarding Welfare of Migrant Children.”

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APA Urges Members to Maintain Pressure on Administration Regarding Child Detentions

In an about-face, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order yesterday halting his administration’s policy of separating migrant children from their parents who illegally cross the U.S. southern border. But Trump’s decision to continue his “zero tolerance” policy of border crossing will still place families into prison-like detention centers, perhaps long term.

It remains unclear what will happen to the more than 2,300 migrant children who have been separated from their parents since mid-May. Images of young children confined in steel cages and sleeping en masse on thin pads on concrete floors with aluminum-foil-like blankets sparked condemnation around the world, including from Pope Francis and all four living former first ladies.

APA led a coalition of mental health organizations in lobbying the administration to immediately halt its cruel policy of separating children from their parents at the U.S. border. “Children are dependent on their parents for safety and support. Any forced separation is highly stressful for children and can cause lifelong trauma, as well as an increased risk of other mental illnesses, such as depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder,” wrote APA and 17 mental health organizations, including the American Association of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Psychoanalytic Association, in a letter sent yesterday to the departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services.

“This is not an acceptable policy to counter unlawful immigration, and the administration must immediately rescind this course of action,” the letter continued. “We support practical, humane immigration policies that take into account what we know about the harmful, long-term psychological effects of separation on children and their families.”

The government, under a federal court order known as the Flores settlement, is prohibited from keeping migrant children in detention for more than 20 days. But Trump’s Executive Order instructs Attorney General Jeff Sessions to file a request to modify Flores so it can detain families long term while adjudicating the criminal proceedings of the parents for improper entry. When combined with asylum claim evaluations, such proceedings can take months or years to resolve.

“Many families crossing the United States border are fleeing war and violence in their home countries and are already coping with the effects of stress and trauma,” APA President Altha Stewart, M.D., said in a statement opposing the separation of children from parents at the border released May 30.

APA is calling on its members to keep up the pressure and prevent further trauma from being inflicted on these children and families. APA has posted a form in its Action Center that psychiatrists can use to urge the administration to halt its destructive immigration policies immediately. Access the Action Center form now.

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President Trump Nominates Psychiatrist to Serve as Assistant Secretary of Mental Health

President Donald Trump announced on Friday his intent to nominate Elinore McCance-Katz, M.D., Ph.D., a psychiatrist with a subspecialty in addiction psychiatry, to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use in the Department of Health and Human Services.

McCance-Katz, M.D., Ph.D., is currently the chief medical officer for the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities, and Hospitals. She is also a professor of psychiatry and human behavior and professor of behavioral and social sciences at the Alpert Medical School at Brown University.

McCance-Katz previously served as the first chief medical officer of the federal government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). A long-time member of APA, McCance-Katz led the Physicians' Clinical Support System for Buprenorphine, funded by SAMHSA grants, in collaboration with APA’s Council on Addiction Psychiatry. The program has helped train physicians to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid-dependent patients using distance-learning tools.

“Dr. McCance-Katz possesses a unique blend of academic and public sector experiences squarely focused on mental health and substance use disorders, having served in SAMHSA in the past,” said APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A.

“As an accomplished physician,” said APA President Maria A. Oquendo, M.D., Ph.D., “she will bring a wealth of knowledge in the prevention, treatment, and recovery of substance use disorders which currently challenges the United States. APA strongly supports her appointment.”

McCance-Katz obtained her Ph.D. from Yale University with a specialty in infectious disease epidemiology and is a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. She is board certified in general psychiatry and in addiction psychiatry.

APA Pledges to Work With Trump Administration to Advance Mental Health Reform

The election yesterday of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States represented not just a change in administrations but perhaps broader changes in the nation’s health care system, as well.

APA today reiterated its commitment to engage with the Trump administration in a bipartisan manner to advance psychiatry’s objectives.

“We welcome the opportunity to work with President-Elect Trump and the Republican Party on improving mental health in this country,” said APA President Maria A. Oquendo, M.D., Ph.D., in a press statement. “Mental health is a bipartisan issue that affects millions of Americans from all walks of life, and we pledge to work with President-Elect Trump’s administration to ensure these Americans get the care they need.”

APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., agreed. He pointed to APA’s work with the current Congress as an example of its commitment to building relationships across party lines to improve access to mental health care and bring other needed reforms to the country’s mental health system.

“Our issue is one that must reach across party lines for it to be successful,” said APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A. “We have worked in a bipartisan manner with Rep. Tim Murphy, a Republican from Pennsylvania, who has spearheaded mental health reform in Congress for the last three years, as well as Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, a Democrat from Texas. We also worked with Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, and Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, to promote mental health reform in the Senate.”