The Health and Wellbeing of Venezuelan Families in Diaspora
The Health and Wellbeing of Venezuelan Families in Diaspora
La Salud y Bienestar de las Familias Venezolanas en Diáspora
Project Summary
We are partnering with Corporación Nuevos Rumbos in Bogotá, Colombia, to conduct a longitudinal study to understand the experiences of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia. We focus on understanding pre- and post-migration risk and protective factors, as well as mechanisms related to mental health and well-being. Our aim is to provide knowledge that can inform efforts to address the needs of Venezuelan crisis migrants and families, and inform responses to future crises.
Resumen del Proyecto
En colaboración con la Corporación Nuevos Rumbos en Bogotá, Colombia, realizaremos un estudio longitudinal para comprender las experiencias de migrantes venezolanos en Colombia. Nos enfocaremos en entender los factores de riesgo y protección antes y después de migrar, relacionados con los diferentes procesos de salud mental y bienestar. Nuestro objetivo es proporcionar conocimiento que pueda informar los esfuerzos para abordar las necesidades de los migrantes y familias venezolanas en crisis, e informar cómo enfrentar estas crisis en el futuro.
Approach
Participants will complete a series of surveys twice annually over three years. In these surveys, we will ask about participants' experiences in Venezuela before migrating and in Colombia after migrating, as well as their family relationships. Although the study will not be limited to parents and children, the qualitative portion of the study will focus on parent-child dyads. We have recruited a Community Advisory Board (CAB), comprised of both experts in the field and members of the Venezuelan community in diaspora. In collaboration with the CAB and our community partners, we will ensure the dissemination of our findings to inform efforts to support Venezuelan migrants and families.
Metodología
Los participantes completaran una serie de encuestas dos veces al año, por tres años. En estas encuestas se les preguntará a los participantes sobre sus experiencias en Venezuela antes de migrar, sus experiencias en Colombia después de migrar, y sobre su relación familiar. Aunque este estudio no está limitado a padres e hijos, haremos entrevistas cualitativas enfocadas en las experiencias de padres-e-hijos. Hemos reclutado una Junta Comunitaria de Asesoramiento (CAB), compuesta de expertos en el tema y miembros laicos de la comunidad venezolana en diáspora. Junto con el CAB y nuestros colaboradores de la comunidad, nos aseguraremos de compartir nuestros resultados para informar los servicio y programas que ayudan a los migrantes y familias venezolanas.
Measurement and Metrics
Our study focuses on pre-migration experiences, post-migration cultural stress, family functioning, mental health, and well-being among Venezuelan migrants.
Medidas y Métricas
Nuestro estudio se enfoca en las experiencias pre-migratorias, el estrés cultural post-migratorio, funcionamiento familiar, salud mental y bienestar de migrantes y familias venezolanas.
Facts and Figures
- This study will be conducted in collaboration with colleagues at Corporación Nuevos Rumbos in Bogotá, Colombia.
- We will recruit 250 adults and 250 youth (ages 12 to 17) who are originally from Venezuela and have migrated to Colombia since 2015.
- We aim to disseminate our findings to practitioners and community leaders working to promote the well-being of Venezuelan migrants and families.
Hechos y Cifras
- Este estudio se llevará a cabo en colaboración con nuestros colegas de la Corporación Nuevos Rumbos en Bogotá, Colombia.
- Reclutaremos 250 adultos y 250 jóvenes (de 12 a 17 años) que sean originalmente de Venezuela y hayan migrado a Colombia a partir del 2015.
- Nuestro objetivo es compartir nuestros hallazgos con líderes de la comunidad que trabajan para promover el bienestar de los migrantes y familias venezolanas.
Research Differentiators
More than 7 million Venezuelans have fled their home country since 2015, with more 2.5 million relocating to neighboring Colombia. For many Venezuelan migrants, their post-migration reception has been mixed, and multiple studies suggest that mental health is an important challenge with cultural stress contributing to mental health burden. However, at present we know very little about this unique population of Venezuelan migrants. As such, there is a critical need for research following individuals and families across departure, arrival, and resettlement. Our team is at the forefront of research in this area. Since 2017, we have collaborated on multiple projects with Venezuelan crisis migrants, interviewing more than 1,000 Venezuelan youth and parents.
Our work on Venezuelan migrants in Colombia is part of a larger cross-national project examining the experiences of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia and in the United States.
Diferenciadores de investigación
Mas de 7 millones de venezolanos han salido huyendo de su hogar desde el 2015, con más de 2.5 millones migrando a Colombia. Para muchos migrantes venezolanos, la experiencia de recepción post-migratoria ha sido mixta, muchos estudios sugieren que la salud mental es un desafío importante, donde el estrés cultural afecta la carga de salud mental.
Sin embargo, en la actualidad sabemos muy poco sobre esta población única de migrantes venezolanos. Como tal, existe una necesidad crítica de investigación que siga a las personas y las familias a lo largo de la salida, llegada y el restablecimiento.
Nuestro equipo está a la vanguardia de la investigación en esta área. Desde 2017, hemos colaborado en varios proyectos con migrantes venezolanos en crisis, entrevistando a más de 1000 jóvenes y padres venezolanos.Nuestro trabajo sobre los migrantes venezolanos en Colombia es parte de un proyecto transnacional más amplio que examina las experiencias de los migrantes venezolanos en Colombia y los Estados Unidos.
Relevant Publications
Salas-Wright, C.P., Schwartz, S.J., Mejía-Trujillo, J., Baidoo, C., Palacios-Pizarro, E., García, M.F., Bates, M., Calderón, I., Oh, S., Andrade, P., Rojas-Posada, V., Duque, M., Pérez-Gómez, A., & Maldonado-Molina, M.M. (in press). Hunger and repression: Pre-departure experiences and PTSD risk among Venezuelans in the U.S. and Colombia. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology.
García, M.F., Piñeros-Leaño, M.F., Mejía, J., Schwartz, S.J., Pérez-Gómez, A., Andrade, P., Toro, J., García, J.P., Bates, M., Calderón, I., Maldonado-Molina, M.M., & Salas-Wright, C.P. (in press). Venezuelan parents’ experiences of hardship and decision to relocate. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research.
García-Meneses, J., Salas-Wright, C.P., Vaughn, M.G., Maldonado-Molina, M.M., Osses Cárcamo, V., Bates, M., Mejia-Trujillo, J., Pérez-Gómez, A., Schwartz, S.J., & Garcia, M.F. (2025). A new approach to exploring agency in migration research: The case of south-to-south migration among Venezuelan youth. Children & Youth Services Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108527
Duque, M., Vos, S.R., Brown, E.C., Perrino, T., Mejia-Trujillo, J., Perez-Gomez, A., Salas-Wright, C.P., & Schwartz, S.J. (2025). The importance of motivations for emigration in understanding post-migration mental health outcomes among diasporic Venezuelans in the United States and Colombia. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. doi: 10.1177/00220221251327966
Salas-Wright, C.P., Pérez-Gómez, A., Maldonado-Molina, M.M., Mejía-Trujillo, J., García, M.F., Bates, M., Vaughn, M.G., Calderón, I., De Los Santos, V.G., Brown, E.C., Sanchez, M., Andrade, P., & Schwartz, S.J. (2024). Cultural stress and mental health among Venezuelan migrants: Cross-national evidence from 2017 to 2024. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s00127-024-02796-x
Salas-Wright, C.P., Schwartz, S.J., Mejía-Trujillo, J., García, M.F., Sahbaz, S., Bates, M., Andrade, P., Pérez-Gómez, A., Maldonado-Molina, M.M. (2024). The crisis migration experience scale: Developing and validating a tool for Venezuelan youth and adults residing in Colombia. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/tra0001708
Salas-Wright, C.P., Schwartz, S.J., Maldonado-Molina, M.M., Keum, B.T.H., Trujillo, J.M., Garcia, M.F., Cano, M.A., Bates, M., & Pérez-Gómez, A. (2024). Online xenophobia and mental health among Venezuelan migrant youth in Colombia: The interplay with “in-person” discrimination. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 94(6), 623-633. doi: 10.1037/ort0000730
Salas-Wright, C.P., Mejía Trujillo, J., Maldonado-Molina, M.M., García, M.F., Bates, M., Schwartz, S.J., & Pérez-Gómez, A. (2024). Interplay of premigration crisis exposure and postmigration cultural stress on depressive symptoms among Venezuelan crisis migrants in Colombia. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 30(4), 886-895. doi: 10.1037/cdp0000665
Alpysbekova, A., Montero-Zamora, P., Soares, M.H., Scaramutti, C., Sahbaz, S., Duque, M., Bautista, T., Garcia, M.F., Salas-Wright, C.P., Maldonado-Molina, M.M., Bates, M., Perez-Gomez, A., Mejia Trujillo, J., Brown, E.C., Schwartz, S.J. (2024). A comparative study of Venezuelan immigrants’ pre- and post-migration concerns for their children in the United States and Colombia. PLOS ONE, 19(12), e0313215. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0313215
Scaramutti, C., Schmidt, R.D., Ochoa, L.G., Salas-Wright, C.P., Brown, E.C., Vos, S.R., Duque, M., Mejía-Trujillo, J., Pérez-Gómez, A., & Schwartz, S.J. (2024). Service needs, context of reception, and perceived discrimination of Venezuelan immigrants in the United States and Colombia. Journal on Migration and Human Security, 12(1), 54-70. doi: 10.1177/23315024231216668
Mejía-Trujillo, J., Pérez-Gómez, A., Montero-Zamora, P., Schwartz, S.J., Salas-Wright, C.P., Brown, E., & Andrade, P. (2023). Una mirada, dos lugares: Experiencias de migración venezolana en Colombia y Estados Unidos. (“One gaze, two places: Venezuelan migration experiences in Colombia and the United States”) Papeles de Población, 29(115), 119-225. Advance online publication. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.22185/24487147.2023.115.08
Vos, S.R., Salas-Wright, C.P., Espinosa, G., Scaramutti, C., Lee, T.K., Duque, M., & Schwartz, S.J. (2023). Perceived discrimination and posttraumatic stress disorder among Venezuelan crisis migrants in Colombia and the United States: The moderating effect of gender. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 15(7), 1076-1084. doi: 10.1037/tra0001263
Salas-Wright, C.P., Maldonado-Molina, M.M., Pérez-Gómez, A., Mejía-Trujillo, J., & Schwartz, S.J. (2022). The Venezuelan diaspora: Migration-related experiences and mental health. Current Opinion in Psychology, 47, 101430. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101430
Salas-Wright, C.P., Oh, S., Vaughn, M.G., Pérez-Gómez, A., Mejía-Trujillo, J., Montero-Zamora, P., Andrade, P., Cohen, M., Scaramutti, C., Rodríguez, J., & Schwartz, S.J. (2021). A validation of the Perceived Negative Context of Reception scale with recently-arrived Venezuelan immigrants in Colombia and the United States. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 27(4), 649-658. doi: 10.1037/cdp0000455
Salas-Wright, C.P., Vaughn, M.G., Goings, T.C., Cobb, C.L., Cohen, M., Montero-Zamora, P., Eschmann, R., John, R., Andrade, P., Oliveros, K., Rodríguez, J., Maldonado-Molina, M.M., & Schwartz, S.J. (2021). Toward a typology of transnational communication among Venezuelan immigrant youth: Implications for behavioral health. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 23(5), 1045-1052. doi: 10.1007/s10903-020-01099-y
Salas-Wright, C.P., Vaughn, M.G., Goings, T.C., Cobb, C.L., Cohen, M., Montero-Zamora, P., Eschmann, R., John, R., Andrade, P., Oliveros, K., Rodríguez, J., Maldonado-Molina, M.M., & Schwartz, S.J. (2021). Toward a typology of transnational communication among Venezuelan immigrant youth: Implications for behavioral health. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 23(5), 1045-1052. doi: 10.1007/s10903-020-01099-y
Salas-Wright, C.P., Goings, T.C., Vaughn, M.G., Cohen, M., Adrade, P., Pérez-Gómez, A., Duque, M., Mejia-Trujillo, J., Maldonado-Molina, M.M., & Schwartz, S.J. (2021). Health risk behavior and cultural stress among Venezuelan youth: A person centered approach. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 56, 219-228. doi: 10.1007/s00127-020-01905-w
Salas-Wright, C.P., Schwartz, S.J., Cohen, M., Maldonado-Molina, M.M., Vaughn, M.G., Sanchez, M., Rodriguez, J., AbiNader, M., John, R., Oliveros, K., & Andrade, P. (2020). Cultural stress and substance use risk among Venezuelan migrant youth in the United States. Substance Use & Misuse, 55(13), 2175-2183. doi: 10.1080/10826084.2020.1795684
Salas-Wright, C.P., Vaughn, M.G., Cohen, M., & Schwartz, S.J. (2020[VG1] ). The sequelae of pre-migration hunger among Venezuelan immigrant children in the United States. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 58(3), 467-469. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2019.10.010
Salas-Wright, C.P., Vaughn, M.G., Goings, T.C., Oh, S., Marsiglia, F.F., Cohen, M., John, R., Andrade, P., & Schwartz, S.J. (2020). Disconcerting rates of alcohol use among Venezuelan immigrant adolescents in the United States. Addictive Behaviors, 104, 106269. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.106269
Schwartz, S.J., Salas-Wright, C.P., Perez-Gomez, A., Mejía-Trujillo, J., Brown, E.C., Montero-Zamora, P., Meca, A., Scaramutti, C., Soares, M.H., Vos, S.R., Javakhishvili, N., & Dickson-Gomez, J. (2018). Cultural stress and psychological symptoms in recent Venezuelan immigrants to the United States and Colombia. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 67, 25-34. doi: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2018.09.001
Principal Investigator
Project Funding
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities - R01MD015920
Partnerships
Project Duration
5 years