Optimism and Intolerance to Uncertainty May Mediate the Negative Effect of Discrimination on Mental Health in Migrant Population

Abstract

(1) Background: Migration causes effects on the people who migrate and on the societies that receive them, which can be positive or negative, depending on the characteristics of the interaction. One negative effect is the emergence of mental health disorders associated with the presence of discrimination, a relationship for which there is abundant evidence, although there is less research on factors that may alter this effect. (2) Objective: To evaluate the possible mediating role of optimism and intolerance to uncertainty in the relationship between discrimination and mental health. (3) Method: Nine hundred and nineteen adult Colombian migrants residing in Chile, 49.5% were men and 50.5% women, ages from 18 to 65 years, were evaluated. The Discrimination Experience Scale, BDI-IA Inventory, BAI, LOT-R and the Intolerance to Uncertainty Scale were applied. The effects were estimated using structural equation modeling. (4) Results: A mediating effect of both dispositional optimism and intolerance to uncertainty on the relationship between discrimination and mental symptomatology was observed. (5) Conclusions: The impact on individual suffering and the social cost of mental health problems require investigating variables on the relationship between discrimination and mental health, including mediators of this relationship, which turn out to be central elements in the development of future strategies for the reduction of anxiety and depression symptoms.