PSYCHOSOCIAL PROBLEMS IN INTERNATIONAL MI GRATION

The objective of this paper is to present a brief review bf the result s that to date are known in relation to the impact of International Mi gration on the psychological well being of the Mexicans who directly ( those who go) or indirectly.(those who stay) have been involved in thi s phenomenon. Human migration from Mexico to the United States is a ph enomenon whose historic roots date back to 1880. Although there is no knowledge of the exact number of Mexican immigrants in the US., they c onstitute the largest national group there. It has been documented, th at the central motivation of the majority of the Mexican men and women who migrate to the United States, is to improve their life conditions and those of their families through a larger income in dollars. Indep endently of the legal status of those who migrate, Mexico-US. migratio n has been recognized as a phenomenon with important repercussions on the psychological and social functioning of those who participate in i t. The stressful situations that Mexican immigrants are faced with are a result of behavioral demands and attitudinal changes that are invol ved in the process of adaptation and acculturation to a new country. T his cultural change tends to cause psychological stress associated par ticularly with the reorganization of cognitive and adaptive skills. In addition, the chronically and the negative characteristics of the con ditions that surround the lives of the Mexican immigrants in the US. r epresent an important risk factor for their mental health. What we kno w about the psychosocial functioning of the women who stay behind is s till limited, buy sufficient to offer us a perspective on the characte ristics of their lives during the absence of their husbands. The migra tion of the spouse, on one hand signifies an increase in the number of responsibilities, new obligations, and a concern about the well being of the spouse in a foreign country. On the other hand, it also repres ents the possibility of having better quality of life for them and the ir children. Although they resent the parting of their spouse, they ge nerally support his decision to go North. In this paper, we conclude t hat International Migration does not translate as a simple geographic mobilization, but as a complex phenomenon that affects principally the psychological and social spheres of those who actively participate in it, as well as those who are affected by migration in an indirect way .