Social Network Impacts and Moderators of Depression Among Indigenous Maya People Remaining in Place of Origin in the Migrant-Sending Guatemalan Western Highlands

Haley M. Ciborowski (), Kimberly C. Brouwer, Samantha Hurst, Ramona L. Perez, Kate Swanson and Holly Baker
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Haley M. Ciborowski: Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Longevity Science, University of California, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
Kimberly C. Brouwer: Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Longevity Science, University of California, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
Samantha Hurst: Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Longevity Science, University of California, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
Ramona L. Perez: Department of Anthropology, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182, USA
Kate Swanson: Department of International Development Studies, Dalhousie University, 6299 South St, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
Holly Baker: Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Longevity Science, University of California, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92093, USA

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 9, 1-30

Abstract: Remaining in the place of origin while family, friends, and neighbors emigrate can have adverse effects on psychological well-being. Specific important relationships absent from one’s social network can be especially impactful, while other relationships and network characteristics still available in the home network can be protective against psychological distress. The highlands of western Guatemala experience emigration at high rates and changing social network structures, affecting the mental health of those remaining at home. This study uses socio-centric network data from a single community ( N = 653) to investigate the association between having emigrant ties in the United States and experiencing depressive symptoms according to an adapted CESD-20 scale. We also explore which types of relationships and network characteristics increase the likelihood of reporting depressive symptoms or moderate the relationship between emigration and depression. Our results indicate that having emigrant ties and more of them increases the odds of depression, even if only one friend or neighbor emigrated. Those with lower levels of education were also more likely to report depressive symptoms. However, more connected networks offered some protection from depression. Certain critical relationships still available at home, like a mother or sibling, lowered the likelihood of depression. For women, higher transitivity, or network cohesiveness, moderated the relationship between emigration and depression, and for men, a higher proportion of their connections outside of the household than within the household moderated that relationship. These findings may offer some insight into important relationships and network structures that may be leveraged to ease the mental health burden for those remaining at home while friends and loved ones emigrate.

Keywords: migration; depression; mental health; social networks; CES-D; Guatemala; indigenous; Central America (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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