"Documentation status and psychological distress among New York City community college students": Correction to Alif et al. (2019)

Reports an error in "Documentation status and psychological distress among New York City community college students" by Ahmed Alif, Bryan S. Nelson, Ana Stefancic, Riya Ahmed and Sumie Okazaki (Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, Advanced Online Publication, May 02, 2019, np). In the original article “lower self-esteem” should have read “higher self-esteem” in the first sentence after the Results heading in the abstract. The correct sentence is “Participants with at risk and temporary statuses reported higher fear of deportation for self, fear of family members being deported, psychological distress, and higher self-esteem than those with stable status.” All versions of this article have been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2019-23603-001.) Objective: This research study examined how psychological distress, self-esteem, and academic performance differ across at-risk, temporary, and stable immigration statuses and whether fear of one’s own deportation and that of family members is associated with psychological distress. Method: We surveyed 150 community college students (51% female; M _age = 22.7, SD _age = 2.4) with 3 types of immigration statuses: stable (citizen), temporary (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals [DACA] and visa), and at-risk of deportation (undocumented). One-way analyses of covariance examined whether fear of deportation, psychological distress, self-esteem, and academic performance varied across immigration statuses. Regression analyses examined the associations among fear of deportation for self and for family members, depression, and isolation and alienation. Results: Participants with at risk and temporary statuses reported higher fear of deportation for self, fear of family members being deported, psychological distress, and higher self-esteem than those with stable status. Academic performance did not differ across immigration statuses. Within the temporary status, DACA students experienced higher anxiety, isolation, and alienation than other temporary status students. Fear of deportation for self and family members predicted depression and isolation and alienation. Both regression analyses controlled for age, sex, region of origin, hours of work, hours of sleep, and socializing per day. Conclusion: The study provides new insights into how immigration status influences the psychological well-being of community college students and introduces a quantifiable framework to better understand the construct of fear of deportation.