Más que palabras: Understanding the mental health and behavioral consequences of sociodemographic risk and deportation fears in Latinx families.

OBJECTIVE: ). We examined the interaction of sociodemographic risk with maternal deportation fears in predicting maternal and youth mental health. METHOD: = 1.73) completed the Parent Development Interview-Revised (Slade et al., 2004), analyzed using a deportation fears custom dictionary (Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count; Pennebaker et al., 2003). Mothers completed the Brief Symptom Inventory (Derogatis, 2001); youth completed the Youth Self-Report (Achenbach, 1991). Cumulative sociodemographic risk was assessed using a composite score of six risk variables. As sociodemographic risk increased, associations between deportation fears and psychopathology decreased. CONCLUSIONS: The adverse impact of maternal deportation fears on mental health is visible only when demographic stress is lower. Deportation fears may increase mental health risk, potentially reducing treatment seeking among families previously at lower risk. Findings underscore the importance of policy and sociocultural shifts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).