From :The first few days of the school year are an anxious time for most kids. But there鈥檚 a group whose levels of stress and anxiety are so high that they can only be compared to those who have experienced trauma.
Silvia Zuvieta Rodriguez is one of them.
鈥淪ince I was little I always had anxiety when it came to my parents not coming home at a certain time,鈥� she says.
Zuvieta Rodriguez is now 18. But her anxiety goes way back
鈥淚 was like six years old when I knew about immigration and deportation[s] and the possibility about them [my parents] being deported back to Mexico. And I suffered extreme anxiety because of it when I was younger but it wasn鈥檛 to the degree of panic attacks 鈥� but it was to the degree of calling them every couple of hours before they got home, making sure that they were on their way,鈥� Zuvieta Rodriguez says.
What started with the terrifying possibility that her parents could be deported 鈥� climaxed with her dad鈥檚 actual deportation four years ago. Zuvieta Rodriguez was 14. That week she attempted suicide.
Deportations today are up from years ago. Data from the Department of Homeland Security shows that deportations have risen by almost .
This ramping up often translates in elevated levels of stress and anxiety in thousands of Texas children
Rice University researcher Luz Garcini just released a study featured in looking precisely at rising stress among immigrant children.
鈥淎nd we found out that overall, the population has a high level of distress 鈥� if we have to speak about specific disorders, major depressive disorders turned out to be primarily prevalent but also the anxiety disorders,鈥� Garcini says.
One disorder Garcini couldn鈥檛 find among this group was Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.) She was puzzled, but not surprised.
鈥淎 lot of the criteria that we developed for PTSD is based on a Western, kind of Anglo culture, of military personnel that was sent overseas and developed trauma symptoms,鈥� Garcini says.
Previous studies have been , not for children who live in fear of losing a parent 鈥� or in fear that they could be deported.
Garcini says that even so, when it comes to PTSD symptoms, these kids fit every criteria, except one
鈥淏ecause 鈥� for example 鈥� one of the traditional criteria that needs to be meet {sic} is: 鈥渢o experience limited functional ability.鈥� And what happens with these immigrants is they will meet criteria for the other symptoms but they have no limited functional ability because they can not afford that luxury,鈥� Garcini says.
For instance, Zuvieta Rodriguez is still in school and holding a job. She can not afford to be limited by her mental health.
鈥淚鈥檓 saving up money so that my mom doesn鈥檛 have to buy the necessities that I need to and for college and stuff as well as my dad,鈥� she says 鈥淗e needs like $500 a month or something like that.鈥�
Imagine hauling that level of stress into a classroom, whether the classroom is at an elementary school or at a college campus.
Michael Williams has been thinking about that. He鈥檚 the former commissioner of the Texas Education Agency.
鈥淭hink about the adverse learning impacts on the student who leaves that classroom and even on the child who鈥檚 left behind 鈥� who鈥檚 gonna be worried that their best friend is now gone 鈥� who鈥檚 gonna be worried that perhaps somebody is going to come get them next,鈥� Williams says. 鈥淭he adverse academic-educational consequences are significant.鈥�
They are significant but unknown 鈥� up until now there鈥檚 very little quantitative data in that regard. And that鈥檚 what Garcini is working on next.
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