Migrant and Multi-generational Immigrant Experiences: The Effects of Stressors on Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Health-related Outcomes

项目摘要 移民人口面临着巨大的逆境和文化适应压力，教育和工作相关 压力源往往处于最前沿。相当大比例的墨西哥移民受教育程度非常有限。 他们在美国经历了经济和非经济压力。不幸的是，移民 包括墨西哥移民在内的人口的健康状况通常比随后的移民更好。 美国出生的几代人最近的研究表明，个人经历和压力暴露会转化为 转化为生物系统的物理变化。例如，升高的压力源，例如由 暴力或创伤，可能导致染色体端粒缩短。端粒缩短被认为是 细胞衰老的标志物，并有助于早期发展与年龄有关的疾病，如心脏病 疾病资源，如强大的社会支持和宗教信仰，可能会缓冲负面影响， 压力源第一代和第二代移民和移民的生活经历的变化，以及 不同的累积应力在生物标记物中可能是明显的，例如端粒长度和DNA 甲基化，允许更深入地了解持续健康差异的病因。这个目标 研究的目的是确定移民经历如何影响个人的短期和长期行为， 心理和身体健康的结果。这项研究将比较第一次和第二次的经验。 第二代墨西哥移民和居住在北卡罗来纳州的移民。我们将进行分析60 半结构化的，深入的访谈，随后管理封闭式访谈375第一和 第二代移民和移民，并收集外周血样本分析端粒长度 DNA甲基化。这些数据将使我们能够（1）确定第一和第二阶段之间的共同点和差异。 第二代和移民的经历，特别是与移民或移民经历有关的经历 使用定性数据收集和分析方法，（2）检查第一次和第二次之间的关联， 第二代和移民的经验和行为，心理和身体的结果，使用 定量分析方法，和（3）确定生物年龄的措施，如端粒测量 长度和DNA甲基化与移民或移民/移民状态的产生相关， 身体、情感和行为健康。这个项目意义重大，因为它将使我们能够检查 移民是一个独特的生活事件，并带来一系列独特的压力。之间的矛盾关系 第一代和第二代移民和健康结果表明， 促成了这些差异。该项目旨在确定涉及移民的压力源， 以及保护性缓冲液，以及它们靶向的潜在生物机制，其潜在目标是 确定改善移民行为、心理和身体健康的战略， 代

PROJECT SUMMARY Immigrant populations face substantial adversity and acculturative stressors, with educational and work related stressors often at the forefront. A substantial percentage of Mexican immigrants have very limited education. They experience both economic and non-economic stressors in the United States. Paradoxically, immigrant populations, including those of Mexican immigrants, generally have better health outcomes than subsequent US-born generations. Recent research indicates that individual experiences and stress exposures translate into physical changes to biological systems. For example, elevated stressors, such as those caused by violence or trauma, can result in shortened chromosome telomeres. Telomere shortening is considered a marker of cellular aging, and contributes to earlier development of age-related diseases, such as heart disease. Resources, such as strong social support and religious beliefs, may buffer the negative impact of the stressors. The variation in lived experiences of first and second generation immigrants and migrants, as well as differential cumulative stress may be evident in biological markers, such as telomere length and DNA methylation, allowing for a deeper understanding of the etiology of persistent health disparities. The goal of this study is to determine how immigrant experiences influence individuals’ short- and long-term behavioral, psychological, and physical health outcomes. This study will compare the experiences among first- and second-generation Mexican immigrants and migrants living in North Carolina. We will conduct and analyze 60 semi-structured, in-depth interviews, subsequently administer closed-ended interviews with 375 first and second generation immigrants and migrants, and collect a peripheral blood sample to analyze telomere length and DNA methylation. This data will enable us to (1) identify commonalities and differences among first- and second-generation and migrants’ experiences, particularly as they relate to immigrant or migrant experiences using a qualitative data collection and analysis approach, (2) examine the association between first- and second-generation and migrants’ experiences and behavioral, psychological, and physical outcomes using a quantitative analytics approach, and (3) determine if measures of biological age, as measured by telomere length and DNA methylation, are associated with generation of immigration or immigrant/migrant status and physical, emotional, and behavioral well-being. This project is significant because it will enable us to examine immigration is a unique life event and presents a unique set of stressors. The paradoxical relationship between first- and second-generation immigrants and health outcomes suggests that the immigrant experience contributes to these differences. This project is designed to identify the stressors involved in immigration as well as protective buffers, and potentially the biological mechanisms they target, with the potential goal of identify strategies to improve the behavioral, psychological, and physical health of immigrants and subsequent generations.