‘The future I am planning’: Forced migration from Central America-Mexico and the Ulysses Syndrome

Abstract

This qualitative research is a secondary analysis that focuses on the relationship between migration due to violence, mental health, and gender. It is based on eleven semi-structured interviews, the Ulysses Syndrome Scale, and the PhQ-9 questionnaire. Four women and seven men between the ages of 21 to 44 participated. All of them migrated from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala to Mexico or the United States, due to violence in their country of origin. Women suffered from sexual harassment, violence, and coercion. Furthermore, as they are part of a family, they are victims of extortion or threats to be allowed to continue, for example, with the family business. Men are forced to become part of organized crime, they can be threatened, persecuted, and suffer murder attempts. Most of the participants show resilience, men tend to report lower depression levels than women.