Abstract
Nervios is a culturally defined condition of psychological stress with important implications for Latino health. Using epidemiological research methods, we examined the prevalence of nervios and associated risk factors, including drug and alcohol use, acculturation, and housing conditions in a population-based study of farm worker families in Mendota, CA (the MICASA Study). A household enumeration procedure was used for sampling, and 843 individuals were interviewed in 2006–2007. In this analysis, we present data on 422 men, 381 accompanied (family) males and 41 unaccompanied males. The prevalence of nervios was 22 %, with no difference in prevalence by household status. Low family incomes, drug use, medium/high acculturation, and poor housing conditions were associated with increased odds of nervios. Self-reported poor/fair health, depressive symptoms, and high perceived stress were also associated with nervios. Since nervios has been shown to be a clinical indicator of psychiatric vulnerability among Latinos, this analysis furthers public health goals of reducing health disparities.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baer RD, Weller SC, de Alba Garcia JG, et al. A cross-cultural approach to the study of the folk illness nervios. Cult Med Psychiatry. 2003;27(3):315–37.
de Salgado Snyder VN, Diaz-Perez MJ, Ojeda VD. The prevalence of nervios and associated symptomatology among inhabitants of Mexican rural communities. Cult Med Psychiatry. 2000;24(4):453–70.
Guarnaccia PJ, Lewis-Fernandez R, Marano MR. Toward a Puerto Rican popular nosology: nervios and ataque de nervios. Cult Med Psychiatry. 2003;27(3):339–66.
Ennis SR, Ríos-Vargas M, Albert NG. The Hispanic population, US Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration; 2011.
USDA. 2009 Agricultural Statistics Annual, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office; 2009.
State of California, California’s Agricultural Employment, Employment Development Department; 2008.
Kandel W, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. Profile of hired farmworkers, a 2008 update. Washington, DC: USDA, Economic Research Service; 2008.
Kim-Godwin YS, Bechtel GA. Stress among migrant and seasonal farmworkers in rural southeast North Carolina. J Rural Health Off J Am Rural Health Assoc Natl Rural Health Care Assoc. 2004;20(3):271–8.
Familiar I, Borges G, Orozco R, Medina-Mora ME. Mexican migration experiences to the US and risk for anxiety and depressive symptoms. J Affect Disord. 2011;130(1–2):83–91.
Grzywacz JG, Alterman T, Muntaner C, et al. Mental health research with Latino farmworkers: a systematic evaluation of the short CES-D. J Immigr Minor Health. 2010;12(5):652–8.
Kirchner T, Lara S. Stress and depression symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis: the mediating role of the loss of social functioning. Acta Neurol Scand. 2011;123(6):407–13.
Carpenter-Song E, Chu E, Drake RE, Ritsema M, Smith B, Alverson H. Ethno-cultural variations in the experience and meaning of mental illness and treatment: implications for access and utilization. Transcult Psychiatry. 2010;47(2):224–51.
Editorial GuarnacciaP. Methodological advances in cross-cultural study of mental health: setting new standards. Cult Med Psychiatry. 2003;27(3):249–57.
Cabassa LJ, Lagomasino IT, Dwight-Johnson M, Hansen MC, Xie B. Measuring Latinos’ perceptions of depression: a confirmatory factor analysis of the Illness Perception Questionnaire. Cult Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2008;14(4):377–84.
Lewis-Fernandez R, Hinton DE, Laria AJ, et al. Culture and the anxiety disorders: recommendations for DSM-V. Depress Anxiety. 2010;27(2):212–29.
Guarnaccia PJ, Rogler LH. Research on culture-bound syndromes: new directions. Am J Psychiatry. 1999;156(9):1322–7.
Lewis-Fernandez R, Gorritz M, Raggio GA, Pelaez C, Chen H, Guarnaccia PJ. Association of trauma-related disorders and dissociation with four idioms of distress among Latino psychiatric outpatients. Cult Med Psychiatry. 2010;34(2):219–43.
England M, Mysyk A, Gallegos JA. An examination of nervios among Mexican seasonal farm workers. Nurs Inq. 2007;14(3):189–201.
Jenkins JH. Ethnopsychiatric interpretations of schizophrenic illness: the problem of nervios within Mexican-American families. Cult Med Psychiatry. 1988;12(3):301–29.
Cherry DJ, Rost K. Alcohol use, comorbidities, and receptivity to treatment in Hispanic farmworkers in primary care. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2009;20(4):1095–110.
Hovey JD, Magana CG. Exploring the mental health of Mexican migrant farm workers in the Midwest: psychosocial predictors of psychological distress and suggestions for prevention and treatment. J Psychol. 2002;136(5):493–513.
Magana CG, Hovey JD. Psychosocial stressors associated with Mexican migrant farmworkers in the Midwest United States. J Immigr Health. 2003;5(2):75–86.
Grzywacz JG, Quandt SA, Chen H, et al. Depressive symptoms among Latino farmworkers across the agricultural season: structural and situational influences. Cult Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2010;16(3):335–43.
Hovey JD, Magana CG. Psychosocial predictors of anxiety among immigrant Mexican migrant farmworkers: implications for prevention and treatment. Cult Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2002;8(3):274–89.
Hovey JD, Magana CG. Cognitive, affective, and physiological expressions of anxiety symptomatology among Mexican migrant farmworkers: predictors and generational differences. Community Ment Health J. 2002;38(3):223–37.
Alderete E, Vega WA, Kolody B, Aguilar-Gaxiola S. Lifetime prevalence of and risk factors for psychiatric disorders among Mexican migrant farmworkers in California. Am J Public Health. 2000;90(4):608–14.
The California Farm Labor Force. Overview and trends from the national agricultural workers survey. Burlingame: Aguirre International; 2005.
López NC, Legato N, editors. Housing for families and unaccompanied migrant farmworkers. Washington, DC: Housing Assistance Council; 1997.
Stoecklin-Marois MT, Hennessy-Burt TE, Schenker MB. Engaging a hard-to-reach population in research: sampling and recruitment of hired farm workers in the MICASA study. J Agric Saf Health. 2011;17(4):291–302.
Burnam MA, Wells KB, Leake B, Landsverk J. Development of a brief screening instrument for detecting depressive disorders. Med Care. 1988;26(8):775–89.
Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R. A global measure of perceived stress. J Health Soc Behav. 1983;24(4):385–96.
Turner RJ, Frankel BG, Levin DM. Social support: conceptualization, measurement, and implications for mental health. Res Community Ment Health. 1983;3:67–111.
Cuellar I, Arnold B, Maldonado R. Acculturation rating-scale for Mexican-Americans II—a revision of the original ARSMA scale. Hisp J Behav Sci. 1995;17(3):275–304.
Andrews AR 3rd, Bridges AJ, Gomez D. A multi-study analysis of conceptual and measurement issues related to health research on acculturation in Latinos. J Transcult Nurs. 2013;24(2):134–43.
Barrera M Jr, Toobert D, Strycker L, Osuna D. Effects of acculturation on a culturally adapted diabetes intervention for Latinas. Health Psychol. 2012;31(1):51–4.
Jimenez DE, Gray HL, Cucciare M, Kumbhani S, Gallagher-Thompson D. Using the Revised Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans (ARSMA-II) with Older Adults. Hisp Health Care Int. 2010;8(1):14–22.
Kasirye OC, Walsh JA, Romano PS, et al. Acculturation and its association with health-risk behaviors in a rural Latina population. Ethn Dis. 2005;15(4):733–9.
Zock JP, Jarvis D, Luczynska C, Sunyer J, Burney P. Housing characteristics, reported mold exposure, and asthma in the European community respiratory health survey. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2002;110(2):285–92.
Grzywacz JG. Mental health among farmworkers in the Eastern United States. In: Arcury TA, Quandt SA, editors. Latino farmworkers in the Eastern United States: health, safety and justice. New York: Springer; 2009. p. 240.
Weigel MM, Armijos RX, Hall YP, Ramirez Y, Orozco R. The household food insecurity and health outcomes of US–Mexico border migrant and seasonal farmworkers. J Immigr Minor Health. 2007;9(3):157–69.
Hovey JD, Magana C. Acculturative stress, anxiety, and depression among Mexican immigrant farmworkers in the Midwest United States. J Immigr Health. 2000;2(3):119–31.
Eisenman DP, Gelberg L, Liu HH, Shapiro MF. Mental health and health-related quality of life among adult Latino primary care patients living in the United States with previous exposure to political violence. JAMA. 2003;290(5):627–34.
Low SM. The meaning of nervios: a sociocultural analysis of symptom presentation in San Jose, Costa Rica. Cult Med Psychiatry. 1981;5(1):25–47.
Evans GW. The built environment and mental health. J Urban Health. 2003;80(4):536–55.
Acknowledgments
This study was funded by grants from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH 2U50OH007550 and R01 OH009293) and The California Endowment.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
O’Connor, K., Stoecklin-Marois, M. & Schenker, M.B. Examining Nervios Among Immigrant Male Farmworkers in the MICASA Study: Sociodemographics, Housing Conditions and Psychosocial Factors. J Immigrant Minority Health 17, 198–207 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-013-9859-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-013-9859-8