Development of the Stress of Immigration Survey: A Field Test Among Mexican Immigrant Women

Fam Community Health. 2016 Jan-Mar;39(1):40-52. doi: 10.1097/FCH.0000000000000088.

Abstract

The Stress of Immigration Survey (SOIS) is a screening tool used to assess immigration-related stress. The mixed methods approach included concept development, pretesting, field testing, and psychometric evaluation in a sample of 131 low-income women of Mexican descent. The 21-item SOIS screens for stress related to language, immigrant status, work issues, yearning for family and home country, and cultural dissonance. Mean scores ranged from 3.6 to 4.4 (a scale of 1-5, higher is more stress). Cronbach α values were more than 0.80 for all subscales. The SOIS may be a useful screening tool for detecting high levels of immigration-related stress in low-income Mexican immigrant women.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Communication Barriers
  • Emigrants and Immigrants / psychology*
  • Emigration and Immigration*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Mexico / ethnology
  • Poverty
  • Psychometrics
  • Surveys and Questionnaires*
  • United States