Restrictive immigration policies harm the mental health of undocumented immigrants and their U.S. citizen family members. As a sociopolitical stressor, threat to family due to immigration policy can heighten anxiety, yet it is unclear whether political engagement helps immigrant-origin students to cope. We used a cross-sectional survey of college students from immigrant families (N = 2,511) to investigate whether anxiety symptomatology was associated with perceived threat to family and if political engagement moderated this relationship. We stratified analyses by self/parental immigration statuses—undocumented students, U.S. citizens with undocumented parents, and U.S. citizens with lawfully present parents—to examine family members’ legal vulnerability. Family threat was significantly associated with anxiety; higher levels of political engagement reduced the strength of this relationship. However, this moderation effect was significant only for U.S. citizens with lawfully present parents. These findings emphasize the importance of the family immigration context in shaping individuals’ mental health outcomes.

中文翻译：

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焦虑的活动人士？审视不同自我/父母移民身份的大学生的移民政策威胁、政治参与和焦虑

限制性移民政策损害无证移民及其美国公民家庭成员的心理健康。作为一种社会政治压力源，移民政策对家庭的威胁可能会加剧焦虑，但尚不清楚政治参与是否有助于移民出身的学生应对。我们对来自移民家庭的大学生（N = 2,511）进行了一项横断面调查，以调查焦虑症状是否与感知到的家庭威胁有关，以及政治参与是否调节了这种关系。我们根据自己/父母的移民身份（无证学生、父母无证的美国公民以及父母合法居留的美国公民）进行分层分析，以检查家庭成员的法律脆弱性。家庭威胁与焦虑显着相关；更高水平的政治参与削弱了这种关系的强度。然而，这种调节效应仅对父母合法在场的美国公民才显着。这些发现强调了家庭移民背景在塑造个人心理健康结果方面的重要性。