Psychological Distress and Parent-Child Bonding in Immigrant and Refugee Married Couples

Considering the stressors immigrant parents experience, little is known about the effects of these stressors on immigrant parent-child triadic relationships, particularly bonding experiences of both parents with their child among immigrants and refugees. This study aimed to examine the relationships among acculturative stress, posttraumatic stress, and depressive symptoms in immigrant and refugee Arab American fathers and mothers and the relationship of these factors to bonding with their child. Using a cross-sectional design, we recruited 32 married mother-father dyads who were 18 years of age or older, had a healthy child between the ages of 6 and 24 months, self-identified as of Arab descent, immigrated to the U.S after the age of 14, and spoke and read either Arabic or English. All study scales demonstrated acceptable Cronbach's α values. Three fathers and three mothers (9%) scored above the diagnostic cutoff for post-traumatic stress, 15 mothers (47%) and 8 fathers (25%) reported clinically depressive symptoms. Maternal bonding impairment was significantly correlated with maternal post-traumatic stress (ρ(32) = 0.48, p =.003) and paternal depressive symptoms (ρ(32) = 0.42, p =.008). Similarly, paternal acculturative stress and paternal depressive symptoms were correlated with paternal bonding impairment (ρ(32) = 0.35, p =.02 and (ρ(32) = 0.32, p =.03). Additionally, bonding impairments in mothers and fathers were significantly intercorrelated (ρ(32) = 0.35, p =.02). In immigrant families, the disruption caused by acculturative stress and mental health issues can be particularly distressing. Addressing these challenges requires a culturally sensitive and holistic approach.