Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, Vol 15(7), Oct 2023, 1067-1075; doi:10.1037/tra0001228
Objective: This study examined the association between immigration legal status and distress from the announcement of the termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program among individuals affected by this potentially traumatic event (PTE), along with identifying relevant risk factors. Method: Participants (N = 233) affected by the termination announcement provided cross-sectional self-reports on distress from the announcement that was measured using the Impact of Events Scale—Revised. Results: Of the participants, 40.7% met the clinical cutoff for distress from the PTE indicative of posttraumatic stress disorder. DACA recipients had significantly higher levels of distress from the PTE compared with non-DACA undocumented immigrants and documented counterparts, χ²(2, N = 233) = 23.25, p OR = 4.11, 95% confidence interval [1.99, 8.50], p OR = 2.06, [1.05, 4.03], p = .035), and having lower financial security (OR = .54, [.38, .75], p