Combinatorial Effects of Discrimination, Legal Status Fears, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Harsh Working Conditions Among Latino Migrant Farmworkers: Testing Learned Helplessness Hypotheses

Migrant farmwork is often characterized by harsh working conditions that carry significant physical and mental health consequences. Using a learned helplessness framework, the current study examined the extent to which discrimination, immigration legal status difficulties, and adverse childhood experiences moderated the effects of harsh working conditions on depression and anxiety. The study also examined the extent to which harsh working conditions mediated the effects of discrimination, immigration legal status difficulties, and adverse childhood experiences on depression and anxiety. Participants were 241 migrant farmworkers recruited in the Midwest. Participants completed interviews consisting of the Migrant Farmworker Stress Index (MFWSI), Adverse Childhood Events Scale (ACEs), Everyday Discrimination Scale, the Centers for Epidemiology Scale for Depression (CES-D), and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7). Tests of indirect effects suggested, working conditions mediated the effects of ACEs, immigration legal status fears, and discrimination on CES-D and GAD-7 scores (p values <.05). Higher ACEs and discrimination also appeared to be associated with larger effects of harsh working conditions on depression and anxiety (p values <.05), while legal status fears did not significantly moderate the effect of harsh working conditions on either outcome (p values >.05). Likely through different mechanisms, adverse childhood experiences, discrimination and immigration legal status are associated with higher risk of harsh working conditions and subsequently these conditions account for much of the relations between these 3 stressors with depression and anxiety. Additionally, discrimination and adverse childhood experiences appear to then enhance the effects of working conditions.