MIGRATORY STRESS AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF COPING

Migration generates high levels of stress, which when not coped with effectively, can increase depressive symptoms. Study aims to determine the mediating role of approaching and avoidance coping strategies between migratory stress and depression. Sample comprised 295 Latin-American immigrants (ages 18 - 69) recruited through Catalan ONGS. Sampling was based on consecutive cases method. The approaching coping does not denote a mediating value between migratory stress and depression in either men or women. Avoidance coping denotes to be a partial mediator between stress and depression only in women. Establishing that avoidance coping strategies mediate the relation between migratory stress and depression in the female population may have important repercussions in the implementation of psychological therapies.