An Immigrant Paradox in the Black Box? Evaluating In-Prison Mental Health Crises Among Foreign- and Native-Born Persons

• In Event: New Directions in Correctional Research

Abstract

Multidisciplinary literature finds evidence of an “immigrant paradox,” where foreign-born persons fare better than native-born persons on a range of adjustment indices. Indeed, even as immigrants are exposed to amounting hardship and ongoing anti-immigrant sentiment in an American context, they appear better able to cope with adversity than their non-immigrant counterparts. Nevertheless, research on the immigrant paradox rarely employs a justice-involved sample, and thus, it is not yet clear whether the experience of confinement ultimately levels the playing field across citizenship statuses. If the immigrant paradox persists in a prison context, foreign-born persons may be less likely to experience poor outcomes like mental health crises behind bars. Yet immigrants are also confronted with the threat of deportation and an increasingly punitive criminal justice system that systematically harms persons of color and may threaten their adaptability. These conditions may make psychological distress more likely among foreign-born persons. Using person-level data from a western prison system, regression models are specified to examine whether foreign- and native-born persons vary in their likelihoods of mental health crises in prison. Results and their implications for research and policy will be discussed.

Authors

• Julie L. Kuper, University of Wyoming

• Jillian Turanovic, University of Colorado Boulder

• Nancy Rodriguez, University of California, Irvine