title: Psychological homelessness and enculturative stress among US-deported Salvadorans: a preliminary study with a novel approach.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the construct psychological homelessness-feelings of not belonging in one's home country-within the context of deported Salvadorans' enculturation to El Salvador. Participants (n = 66) who had been deported from the United States completed a set of questionnaires related to their deportation experience. Results indicated that deportees, in various degrees, experienced the phenomenon of psychological homelessness and enculturative stress related to living in El Salvador. As hypothesized, enculturative stress related to re-adapting to life in El Salvador significantly correlated with psychological homelessness after controlling for time spent in the United States, acculturation, and enculturation. Additional analyses revealed that maladaptive cognitions related to the deportation experience also predicted psychological homelessness. Our findings suggest psychological homelessness appears to be a valid construct and is experienced by many undocumented immigrants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA, charlesnegy@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Negy
authors.forename: Abilio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reig-Ferrer
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gaborit
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Ferguson
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004544:El Salvador / Q000453:epidemiology; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000209:etiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000069756:Undocumented Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult