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Over the Summer and Fall I wrote a research paper on the access to mental health care of undocumented immigrants as part of the Drexel Student Fellows program and presented my research at a conference. I became pretty invested in this subject so I decided to continue on this topic for my Capstone. My goal was to raise awareness of the issue and to try to find someway to alleviate the issue in my community. Throughout the year I continued my research and I thought about what would be the most effective way I could create a positive impact on the undocumented community. I had some trouble figuring out what my final product should be and my ideas went through several stages. First I thought I would create PSAs to raise awareness and then I thought about hosting an event. I finally decided to create an online resource guide for young undocumented immigrants that would help lead them to information that could assist them with any issues surrounding mental health and the college application process. Most of my process was spent on the research on the subject itself as well as finding relevant resources. It was hard to find resources meant for immigrants concerning mental health which made me even more aware of the change that needs to be made. Overall, the Capstone process taught me about what it is like to lead your own independent project and difficulties that come with it.

Annotated Bibliography

Baker, Bryan, and Nancy Rytina. Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2012. Rep. Homeland Security, Mar. 2013. Web. 1 Nov. 2016. <https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/ois_ill_pe_2012_2.pdf>.

This report from Homeland Security provided me with information on the numbers of undocumented immigrants residing in the United States and the specific demographics of these undocumented immigrants. This report provided me with a more formal definition of what it means to be an undocumented immigrant. I will be using this source to create a brief overview of the population of undocumented immigrants and what the current state of affairs is in my resource guide/website. This source provides very detailed and comprehensive statistics that allowed me to better understand where undocumented immigrants come from and how that might affect their experience with health care services. This source also analyzed trends within recent years in the population, which was pretty useful in understanding the general status of the undocumented population.

Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. (2015). Behavioral health trends in the United States: Results from the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS Publication No. SMA 15-4927, NSDUH Series H-50). Retrieved from http://www.samhsa.gov/ data/

This is a government report that details trends in drug use and mental health disorders in the United States. It gives statistics of mental health disorder for various different demographics. I used this source for basic statistics of mental health prevalence in the United States based on socioeconomic class and ethnicity. This source also allowed me to have a general understanding of mental health disorder prevalence in the United States. I chose this source because it contained a lot of statistics that will allow me to establish to others the general landscape in regards to mental health and then compare that to the mental health of undocumented immigrants.

Estrada, Sheryl. "Children of Undocumented Immigrants Face Mental Health Crisis."DiversityInc. N.p., 6 Apr. 2015. Web. 1 Nov. 2016. <http://www.diversityinc.com/news/children-of-undocumented-immigrants-face-mental-health-crisis/>.

This article discusses two studies which I couldn’t gain access to. The first study is about anxiety and PTSD in undocumented children. The second is about mental health in general in undocumented children. This source is limited in that it isn’t the direct source for the data and just cites parts of the studies but it allowed me to gain a general understanding of mental health disorders in undocumented children. It also provides quotes from experts in the field that I could perhaps use in my project. I used this study to gain a general understanding of mental health in undocumented children to be able to compare that to mental health in the United States in general.

Hacker, Karen, Maria Elise Anies, Barbara Folb, and Leah Zallman. "Barriers to Health Care for Undocumented Immigrants: A Literature Review." Risk Management and Healthcare Policy (2015): 175-83. PMC. Web. 12 Aug. 2016.

This is a paper that provides a general overview of previous research within my topic, health care access for undocumented immigrants. The paper cites several studies that provide information about barriers to access, lists these barriers, and analyzes them. I chose this source because it provided me with a comprehensive understanding of what exactly prevents undocumented immigrants from getting general health care. The paper also provided a comprehensive list of recommendations to solve this problem. These recommendations could definitely be included in my resource guide. This source doesn’t really talk about mental health specifically and is limited in that regard.

Nandi, Arijit, Sandro Galea, Gerald Lopez, Vijay Nandi, Stacey Strongarone, and Danielle C. Ompad. "Access to and Use of Health Services Among Undocumented Mexican Immigrants in a US Urban Area." American Journal of Public Health 98.11 (2008): 2011-020. Print.

This paper is similar to the Hacker paper in that it also is centered on access to general Health services for undocumented immigrants. However, this paper presents original research and gives specific statistics of the number of undocumented immigrants who have access. It breaks down this information by different demographics such as income and education. It is also gives statistics about instances of discrimination. It analyzes this information and specifies which characteristics mean less access to health care. I used this study to gain an understanding of what types of things stop undocumented immigrants from gaining general health care. Like the Hacker paper it does not mention mental health services in specific so it is not useful in that regard.

Perez, M. Carmela, and Lisa Fortuna. "Chapter 6. Psychosocial Stressors, Psychiatric Diagnoses and Utilization of Mental Health Services Among Undocumented Immigrant Latinos." Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Services 3.1-2 (2005): 107-23. Print.

This paper posits that undocumented immigrant latinos face a unique set of circumstances that increases the likelihood of certain mental health disorders while also lessening their opportunities to gain access to mental health care services and adequate treatment. This is one of the few sources I could find focusing specifically on mental health and not just general health care. It provides specific statistics on the mean number of mental health related appointments those who gained treatment planned as well as the prevalence of specific stressors and psychiatric disorders. I will be using this source to explain the general situation of mental health care for undocumented immigrants.

"Prevalence." Youth.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2017. <http://youth.gov/youth-topics/youth-mental-health/prevalance-mental-health-disorders-among-youth>.

This is a collection of statistics compiled by youth.gov encompassing the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and the demographics with higher risk of psychiatric disorder. Although this website is not the original source for these statistics I feel confident in the reliability of the information due to the number of citations from other reports and papers. I will be using this source for its statistics regarding the disparity of treatment opportunities between white children and minority children as well as the difference in prevalence between these two groups. Additionally, this source reveals disparity in the prevalence of psychiatric disorders between children from families of different socioeconomic status which I will use to further prove how income greatly affects access to treatment.

Pumariega, Andres J., Eugenio Rothe, and JoAnne B. Pumariega. "Mental health of immigrants and refugees." Community mental health journal 41.5 (2005): 581-597.

This paper reflects on the mental health of immigrants and refugees in general, providing an overview the stressors this population faces, the process of acculturation, the needs of the population, and the current access to mental health care services. Although this paper does not focus on undocumented immigrants it does offer insights into feelings all immigrants feel, whatever their legal status, such as alienation. The paper also talks specifically about immigrant children who may feel alienated from their native culture. I will use this source to provide information about the stress immigration can bring and how children are affected by this in particular.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2012). Mental Health, United States, 2010. HHS Publication No. (SMA) 12-4681. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

This report details trends in mental health service use by demographic. Although this source does not have data on undocumented immigrants specifically it will still be useful in creating a comparison between normal use of mental health care services and that of undocumented immigrants. I am using this report to provide information on my resource guide as to how many people use mental health services, how many people who need to use mental health services actually do, and how long their treatment time usually is. I will then compare this information with the data I learned from the Teunissen paper and the Fortuna and Perez paper.

Teunissen, Erik, et al. "Mental health problems of undocumented migrants (UMs) in the Netherlands: a qualitative exploration of help-seeking behaviour and experiences with primary care." BMJ open 4.11 (2014): e005738.

This paper details mental health of undocumented immigrants in the Netherlands and contains an analysis of a series of interviews conducted with this population. This paper has information on the common psychiatric stressors as well as barriers to treatment. I will be using the clips the paper provides from the interviews in my project to showcase the fears immigrants have in regards to health care. Although this study was conducted in the Netherlands were the situation for undocumented immigrants is not exactly the same as it is in the United States I am sure that many of the same feelings and fears are present in the US.

Warren, Robert. "US undocumented population drops below 11 million in 2014, with continued declines in the Mexican undocumented population." J. on Migration & Hum. Sec. 4 (2016): 1.

This paper analyzes the population of undocumented immigrants in the United States. It breaks down the recent trends into separate demographics such as country of origin and population by state. This source does not discuss the reasons behind these trends but does mention that perhaps the decrease overall in the undocumented population is due to immigrants becoming legal citizens. I will be using this paper to explain the status of the population undocumented immigrants in the United States and explain where a majority of these immigrants come from. This will allow me to connect the origins of the undocumented population to potential cultural barriers to mental health services.

Zamosky, Lisa. "Healthcare Options for Undocumented Immigrants." LA Times. N.p., 27 Apr. 2014. Web. 1 Nov. 2016. <http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-healthcare-watch-20140420-story.html>.

This article tells the story of an undocumented immigrant and her experience with mental health care. I will be using this source as an example of one person’s experience as an undocumented immigrant in the United States. I can perhaps link this to my website for guidance counselors to read so that they can better understand the issues undocumented immigrants face when contemplating health care and the future. This isn’t the most reliable source but it is useful for creating an emotional appeal to those who don’t have a full understanding of my topic.

Coming from a developing country, child marriage was always something that I couldn’t fully understand. For years I’ve believed that it was appropriate and if it was not, rules and regulations should have protected it somehow. But no, I was wrong all this time. To correct myself, I started designing my capstone during the month of January in 2016. It all started from an average research project from Mr. Baird’s American History class. From there, the overall idea escalated as time went by. During April of 2016, I was chosen as one of the candidate for Internation Conference on Urban Education. This conference advanced my capstone by making me eligible to hold a seminar on the topic of child marriage and introduce other civilians to this idea that many are not aware of. After the conference, I began to do extensive research and plan out a literature review on my topic. Soon after, one of my close friend was pushed to edge to get married early without her will. Tis set me back a  little while not knowing what my next step should be. So as an advocate of child marriage, I decided to stick by her side and help with any necessities to recover from that position. So my capstone highlights the educativ site I’ve created to help others understand this issue and also write the journey of my closest friend who went through child marriage. Many things were learned through my capstone but the most important one was how helpless and vulnerable the younger generations are.

1. Brides, Girls Not. "About child marriage." Girls Not Brides. Idea Bureau, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2017. <http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/about-child-marriage/>.

The website, Girls Not Brides, carries a historic explanations of child marriages and it has/is affecting both the past and the present and even maybe the future if the problem continuous. In addition to that, the website also carries bunch of statistics that can come in handy while I prove my point about child marriages. In a broader sense, this website is a building point for carrying statistics. In my opinion, I believe this website have a strong stance point on child marriages and how it will continue to affect us and the environment if this epidemic is not immediately prohibited. I wish to incorporate this in my project by pulling out interesting and informational statistics which I can easily implement in my future paper. In addition to that, I wish to draw out their hypothesis and compare with my hypothesis to draw out differences.

2. "The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006." The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. State of Himachal Pradesh, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2017. <https://indiankanoon.org/doc/790355/>.

This website clearly portrays the act of banning child marriage in india in the year of 2006 and forward to follow. While clearly listing what counts as child marriage, it also portrays punishments one much receive from the governmental side if anyone has committed or is willing to commit the act of child marriage. In addition to that, the website also portrays the girls as reducing social power and empowering them so the ideology of child marriage can be banned. In my opinion, I believe that even though this website clearly portrays lots of good news, the society lacks the capability of capturing that information and implementing that in real life. I will be using this website as a source to inform my reader that the prohibition act for child marriages exists, but lack of consideration are being played by it.

3. Huda, Taqbir. "The Problem with the Child Marriage Act." The Problem with the Child Marriage Act | Inter Press Service. The Daily Star, Bangladesh, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. <http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/01/the-problem-with-the-child-marriage-act/>.

This source provides informations regarding to child marriage act and how there’s some severe problems behind the act that are unknown. In addition that that, this source provides several example behind the nonsense of child marriage act. I selected this source because it empowered the negativity behind these acts and how they are not promising by any sense. I believe that if a act have to be implemented by any means, it should have the capability to hold enough waters to ensure itself to be yourself. One limitation of this source was that it wasn’t so in depth that I was looking for, but rather gave brief explanations which can work I believe. I will be implementing this in my project on the sources section and my research part as well where I explain the downside of these acts.

4. Raphael, T.J. "The US has a forced child marriage problem, too." Public Radio International. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. <https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-12-29/us-has-forced-child-marriage-problem-too>.

This source provides reasonable understanding of how child marriage is not  a problem in the developing countries, but in a country like U.S. as well. Many interviews and talks were collected from researchers about the child marriage and many had the same opinion; being unsure about the growth of marriage. I selected this source because it shows the uncertainty and the unknown of why child marriage is actually a problem in our society. I feel as if the uncertainty about the child marriage is not discovered soon enough, girls at U.S. will have have to face the same problematic as other third world countries girls. I found this source useful because I can potentially use this source to explain my hypothesis that there seems to be a hierarchy that is controlling these kinds of problematic situations and the average public is surely unaware about them.

5. Reiss, Fraidy. "America's Child Marriage Problem." The New York Times. Op-Ed, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. <https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/opinion/americas-child-marriage-problem.html>.

Significantly different from other sources but with a similar concept, this source provides the reader with necessary information behind the law systems that protects child marriages in the U.S. specifically how that seems to be one of the biggest issues. I selected this source because it goes in depth behind the systematic of law and “parent consent” which gives the judge permission to conform marriages for anyone under the age of 18 in U.S. This source will be critically helpful when I explain the reason behind child marriages in the U.S. and how the parents plays a HUGE role behind this issue. One limitation of this source is the lack of example but I believe it is already strong enough with the interviews that it carries.

6. Male, Chata, and Quentin Wodon. "Basic Profile of Child Marriage in Bangladesh." Open Knowledge. The World Bank, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. <https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/12/11/06-0510.htm>.

This website provides couple of significantly important infographic that goes to show the percentage and the prominence of child marriages in Bangladesh. In addition to that, it also provides good useful informations about the reasons behind the marriage while highlight the poverty rate that lasts there. I selected this source because it can be useful to see the number and analyze them in my research paper. One limitation of this source might be the actual information of how these numbers were gathered but I believe this should not be the problem since it was published though CDC. I wish to use this on my project while I talk about my country, Bangladesh, in general and explain the main base which still holds child marriages up.

7. Raj, Dr. Anita. "Prevalence of Child Marriage and Its Effect on Fertility and Fertility-control Outcomes of Young Women in India: A Cross-sectional, Observational Study." Science Direct. RELX Group, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673609602464>.

The website provides information behind the issue of healthcare in child marriages. To be more in depth it specifically talks about the non fertility rate than can occur in addition to the problematic situations with abortions. Abortion rates rises as the marriage is happening at a much younger age. I selected this source because it clarifies any confusions behind the scientific path of a child marriage, abortions and fertility rates. I found this source useful because it empowers girls by inputting their health consequences while stating the medical side effect behind early marriages. There seems to be no limitation to this source since it clarifies any confusions readers might have while understanding the consequences of health issues and early marriages. I will be using this source to empower my research paper and I mostly plan to out this informations under the medical side of this paper.

8. Larsen, Dana. "DIVORCE IN ETHIOPIA: THE IMPACT OF EARLY MARRIAGE AND CHILDLESSNESS | Journal of Biosocial Science." Cambridge Core. Cambridge Press, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. <https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-biosocial-science/article/div-classtitledivorce-in-ethiopia-the-impact-of-early-marriage-and-childlessnessdiv/70D971AFFDA1DB89863669873A16B050>.

The source provides useful informations regarding child marriages and the divorce rate that carries with the marriage, Which immediately brings up the topic that child marriage is not something that is sufficient or guaranteed for lifetime, but the marriage can easily break anytime. In order to stop that, many forces the couple to have a child at their early ag which immediately puts the girl in danger of harming her internal body systems and putting herself in great danger. I specifically chose this source to use in my project because it shows and aligns with my hypothesis and my beliefs. In addition that, the sites COX models analysis would come great in handy when I show my reader the downside of child marriages and how the divorce, abortions come to play with it.

9. Vikram, Patel. "Poverty and Common Mental Disorders in Developing Countries." Poverty and Common Mental Disorders in Developing Countries. World Health Organization, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. <http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?pid=S0042-96862003000800011&script=sci_arttext&tlng=es>.

This source provides tons of information about poverty, education and other necessary details regarding developing countries. It also does a well job with giving several example of scenarios where a person or a family in developing country have to go through those poverty situations. I believe that this is a strong website for my project because I can use this to show that child marriage doesn't automatically happen, but here are many different factors that are related to the marriage, and most important one is poverty. I will be also able to portray how child marriage destroys the child's education, income and future career in general since they are early at an young age which can automatically take their freedom away. I hypothesize that education is one of the biggest issue of child marriage since loads of children miss the chance of receiving a proper education and this website will help me aid that goal to portray on that paper.

10. Ravallion, Martin. "Can High-inequality Developing Countries Escape Absolute Poverty?" Can High-inequality Developing Countries Escape Absolute Poverty? Elsevier B.V., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165176597001171>.

I selected this source because it provides the background informations that someone needs to know to understand how economic situation and poverty in developing countries actually work. This website and the article followed will be one of the main resources to which I can refer back to and understand the economic and political side behind developing countries which can aid me to better understand the development of child marriages and its roots. I found this source useful because this can eventually teach me the politics behind child marriages in developing countries especially. One limitation will be that it directly doesn’t count child marriage by any chance but it gives broad understanding of the economic positions and questions the great inequality that pay exists to create the poverty situations. I hope to implement this in my project by explaining the broad field and remove the main facades that relates to child marriages in developing countries.