A qualitative study exploring structural violence and mental health among Latino migrant and seasonal farmworkers in North Carolina

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Jennifer Amegashie (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Jennifer Toller Erausquin

Abstract: Migrant and seasonal farmworkers are subjected to structural violence, which is the result of social structures and institutions inflicting harm by inhibiting the ability of farmworkers to meet their basic needs such as safe housing, food, and healthcare. Structural violence removes power from these populations and limits their opportunities. Much of the literature surrounding farmworkers has focused on their physical health, and there is a lack of focus on their mental health. Mental health provides a way of deepening our understanding of the impacts of structural violence as well as Latino migrant and seasonal farmworker health and wellness. This study aims to address these gaps by examining the lives and mental health of farmworkers through a structural violence lens. Utilizing the “Sort and Sift, Think and Shift” methods, a secondary analysis of qualitative data was conducted to operationalize structural violence and demonstrate how it is connected to the mental health of Latino migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Structural violence is created and reinforced by forces and institutions at the highest level of social organization. The results suggest that like many phenomena at the higher levels of the social ecology, structural violence is experienced at the individual level as well. It also suggests that we cannot rely solely on individual-level solutions for something that is a product of structures.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 2024
Keywords
Farmworkers, Mental health, Structural violence
Subjects
Migrant agricultural laborers $x Mental health $z North Carolina
Migrant agricultural laborers $x Violence against $z North Carolina
Foreign workers, Latin American $z North Carolina

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