Psychological distress among Mexican-American and Mexican women as related to status on the new immigration law

Psychological distress in relation to the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act was examined among 90 Mexican-American and Mexican women divided into three groups (n = 30 each): undocumented immigrants who did not qualify for amnesty, undocumented immigrants who qualified for amnesty, and legal residents of the United States of Mexican descent. Results indicate that the undocumented immigrants who did not qualify for amnesty obtained significantly higher scores on hostility. Contrary to prediction, undocumented immigrants who qualified for amnesty obtained lower scores in anxiety (a statistical trend) than did the other two groups. No differences in global psychological distress were found between the undocumented immigrants and the legal residents.