Search Results (27)

Amidst the health and socioeconomic burdens COVID-19 placed on families, communities of color also grappled with heightened xenophobia and racism. Yet, adolescents also found silver linings in the form of spending time with family and engaging in activities promoting relaxation and leisure. The present study examined parent-adolescent relationship quality (RQ) as a moderator of the relations of Latinx youth’s environment (i.e., racial-ethnic discrimination, COVID-19 stress, and COVID-19 silver linings) on their anxiety and depressive symptoms, both concurrently and six months later. Participants included 135 Latinx adolescents (M_age = 16.00, SD = 1.27; 59.3% female; 85.2% U.S.-born). Path analytic models revealed that youth discrimination experiences were positively associated with youth symptomatology, whereas COVID-19 silver linings and positive RQ were negatively associated with youth symptomatology. We also found that at mean and higher levels of negative RQ, discrimination experiences were positively associated with concurrent anxiety symptoms, suggesting that negative relationship features (e.g., conflict, pressure) exacerbated the effects of discrimination on youth anxiety. Therefore, stressors may predict youth symptomatology concurrently, but cultivating a positive parent-adolescent relationship and encouraging finding silver linings may bolster resilience in Latinx youth across time amidst adversity. Full article

This article examines how media outlets create a “border spectacle” (De Genova 2013) in schools, which contributes to the criminalization and deportability of undocumented immigrant students. Using content analysis, we studied n = 30 news articles that covered an incident in 2017 where two undocumented young men were accused of sexual assault and rape of a young woman in the school they all attended. This paper builds on the “school-to-deportation pipeline” by suggesting that, in addition to the zero-tolerance behavioral policies established by schools and teacher’s racist behaviors, the media coverage of alleged criminal acts also play a role in the expulsion and criminalization of undocumented students. The analysis of the news articles highlights four types of media frames employed to criminalize the young men involved in the case prior to these allegations being addressed by a court of law: (1) immigrant youth as sexual predators; (2) immigration as a correlation to a criminal act; (3) parents as the real victims of the case; and (4) sexual assault victims as collateral damage. Each of these media frames are built on xenophobic tropes that have historically facilitated the marginalization of Black and Latinx people, but in this case, it specifically targets undocumented young men. Collectively, the four media frames exemplify how media create a “border spectacle” in schools, manufacturing a moral hysteria to further marginalize and criminalize undocumented youth. We argue that, as a result of schools becoming border spectacles, undocumented young people’s fear of feeling targeted based on their “illegality” is intensified, and their sense of inclusion is hindered in an often thought to be safe and inclusive space for undocumented young people. Full article

In the late 1970s, adolescents in East Harlem, New York, participated in a program called the Youth Action Program where they worked collectively to address systemic issues causing inequities in their communities (e.g., inequities in housing and education). In the current study, we integrate the sociopolitical development framework with life-course health development to explore how participation in the program shaped adolescents’ skills and capacities for social transformation in ways that were health-promotive and informative for life trajectories. Data included retrospective interviews and member-checking focus group data of 10 former Youth Action Program members (current M_age = 63; 45% female; 55% male) from predominantly Black and Latinx backgrounds. We used reflexive thematic analysis and adopted a case study approach to highlight how participants’ adolescent experiences of sociopolitical development and resistance against oppressive circumstances propelled healthy life-course development. Specifically, participants were able to establish healthy lives through four health-promotive sociopolitical developmental processes: questioning the system not the self; carving out alternative spaces and pathways; building agency in a dehumanizing society; and finding purpose through committing to social change. Our study suggests that contemporary youth organizing programs can incorporate sustaining practices including the careful vetting and training of adult staff, pursuing tangible opportunities to create change, and embedding youth voice and leadership into programmatic structures to encourage healthy development via sociopolitical development. Full article

The 2020 census reports that 61.2 million Latinxs live in the US, totaling around 19% of all residents, forming the country’s largest minority population. With the growing number of Latinxs, there has been a higher level of contact between Spanish and English leading to language mixing or code-switching (CS) in mainstream American culture. This paper examines the Spanish/English CS in radio advertisements on Los Angeles’s 96.3 La Mega, a bilingual radio station geared towards today’s youth. Using Derrick’ 2015 sentential framework for the linguistic analysis of multilingual sentences, I carry out a sentence-by-sentence analysis of the linguistic nature of the on-air bilingual advertisements. I explore both national advertisements, as well as DJ-endorsed advertisements, to discern whether they follow the patterns previously pointed out in the literature for positive consumer evaluations of Spanish/English bilingual advertisements. Furthermore, I am interested in if these advertisements are in line with the ethos of 96.3 La Mega, which prides itself on being fully bilingual. This research will shed light on the linguistic nature of contemporary strategies being used in bilingual advertisements for the US Latinx community and marketing tactics designed to encourage their consumerism. Full article

The objectives of the present study were to describe civic attitudes and behaviors among Latinx child farmworkers in North Carolina, examine civic outcomes across relevant demographic characteristics, and discuss the implications for research on sociopolitical development among Latinx child farmworkers and for developmental theory. Descriptive statistics (count, percent, or mean, standard deviation as appropriate) were calculated for demographic and civic variables. Associations between the demographic variables and the four civic summary variables were calculated using Generalized Linear Models, the Kruskal–Wallis test, t-tests, or Chi-Square tests. Latinx child farmworkers in North Carolina (N = 169; ages 11–19, M_age = 15.8, 62.7% boys) endorsed relatively high levels of beliefs that society is fair and connections/efficacy in their communities. They reported relatively low involvement in volunteering and political activity. Future work should examine how the daily lives and experiences of child farmworkers inform their developing ideas about civic life in the US and their behavioral participation as they mature. Full article

Adolescent mental health is an urgent global public health issue. Youth participatory action research is an effective strategy to amplify youth voices and can serve as a catalyst for evidence-based action addressing the mental health crisis. To illustrate the benefits of youth participatory action research for informing community health, we describe an ongoing collaboration with a youth council located in the central coast of California, USA. Research methods included an anonymous online self-report survey to gather information about the mental health of high school students in 2020 (n = 176) and 2022 (n = 234), 93% Latinx/Mexican American. Both surveys included a four-item patient health questionnaire to screen for depression and anxiety risk, in addition to scaled and open-ended survey questions selected by the youth leaders based on their research questions. Quantitative and qualitative results indicated a significant but small decrease in mental health risk, and a continued need for resources to access mental health support. Results led to community-based action aimed at improving local youth mental health. The interdisciplinary research team (psychology and public health) and youth leaders share reflections highlighting the innovative, empowering, and transformative impact of youth participatory action research as a tool for improving community health. Full article

Youth and young adults (YYA) have been uniquely affected by COVID-19. Behavioral models have not yet been applied to understand YYA’s preventive behavior, though the Information–Motivation–Behavior (IMB) model may be appropriate. We used data from a national, diverse survey of COVID-19 effects and prevention behaviors in YYA ages 14–24 (n = 1026) and conducted an exploratory factor analysis and bivariate linear regressions to assess the association between demographics and IMB measures. Significant differences by sexual identity were identified, with bisexual/pansexual, gay/lesbian, and queer populations reporting significantly lower prevention stigma, in comparison to their straight respondents. Non-binary respondents (vs. women/girls) and transgender and gender diverse individuals (vs. cisgender) had significantly higher intentions to social distance. Racial/ethnicity differences were also found in lower prevention efficacy beliefs (Latinx and multiracial vs. white), and lower motivation norms (Black and Latinx vs. white). Our findings about critical disparities in IMB measures provide recommendations for future prevention research, practice, and policy development in response to the pandemic, particularly related to highly marginalized communities. Full article

In response to the low representation of Latinx adults in STEM occupations, this community-based participatory action research study aims to increase the number of middle school youths developing STEM career identities and entering high school with the intention to pursue STEM careers. The students were provided with summer and after-school activities focusing on network science and career development curricula. Using a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design and career narratives, this study examined the changes in STEM and career self-efficacy, as well as career identity. The results show improvements in self-efficacy, an increased number of youths with intentions of pursuing future STEM career opportunities, and deeper reflections on their talents and skills after program participation. This paper also describes the program development and implementation in detail, as well as the adaptations that resulted from COVID-19, for scholars and educators designing similar programs. This study provides promising evidence for the quality of STEM and career development lessons in supporting the emergence of a STEM career identity and self-efficacy. Full article

This paper describes how a collective of Latine youth and adult allies used art-based approaches in a participatory action research project to better understand the ways in which young U.S. Latines make meaning of wellbeing. In this study, we interviewed 19 individuals who identified as Latino/a/e, ages 19–24, from Colorado, Washington state and New Jersey. Our team intentionally chose art-based approaches, including music and painting, as analytical tools and healing methods to synthesize the responses of the Latine youth we interviewed. We found that Latine youth and young adults initially struggle with defining wellbeing, considering it to be an overly abstract concept or something only achievable through expensive, Western-based medical practices. We also found that many Latine youth often link the root cause of a majority of their mental health issues to numerous systemic terrors such as racism, capitalism and sexism that directly harm their most intimate and supportive relationships: their immediate or extended family and friendships. Young Latine adults have identified these components as pillars of their wellbeing, along with the need for intergenerational conversations, a sense of convivencia, rootedness with freedom of movement and our right to healing and joy. Full article

Sociolinguistic styles and the resultant ascribed identities are understood as the product of simultaneous variables, leading to the notion of bricolage, or the co-occurrence of variables and their collective indexical meanings. Relatively little attention has been paid to these processes as they manifest on social media platforms. The goal of the current paper is to understand which linguistic and thematic features co-occur in the online production of the no sabo kid style and identity, which manifests as a form of linguistic discrimination towards U.S. Latinx youth. “Hashtag communities” were used to locate posts about no sabo kids on TikTok (N = 95), and videos were automatically and manually coded for salient linguistic and discursive resources in the online no sabo kid community. The results show the co-occurrence of code-switching and phonological and lexical variation, alongside discursive themes, namely ‘proficiency’, ‘ethnicity’, and ‘performative lexical gaps’. I argue that the no sabo kid hashtag community is a mediated manifestation of ideologies surrounding U.S. Latinx bilinguals, where a supposed lack of proficiency in Spanish and grammatical blending of Spanish and English index inauthentic ethnicity. Mediated instantiations of sociolinguistic styles shed light on how linguistic features become enregistered through multimodality and semiotic bricolage. Full article

Youth participatory action research (YPAR) is a critical approach that engages youth as collaborative partners in research. It acknowledges the unique expertise that youth have on the adversities and assets that are present in their familiar systems, such as schools and the community. These projects are often designed to identify and address community problems; however, our projects with local youth aimed to shed light on a pre-existing community asset, Salud y Cariño, an after-school community organization, and a particular moment in time, namely the pandemic shelter-in-place. The mission and epistemologies of the organization set forth by the co-founder and Executive Director informed our partnership and guided our approach to this work. Utilizing qualitative methodologies, the authors (a faculty member, two graduate students, co-founder and director of a local non-profit, and a high school senior) collaboratively designed and implemented an interview-style documentary and photovoice projects, which garnered testimonies on participants’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic regarding school and the community organization. By centering the perspectives of participating Latinx girls and non-binary youth, we demonstrate the effects of this local community organization on its participants during and after the COVID lockdown, and what it means to the youth they serve. The identified themes associated with program participation during this time include the following: (1) building community and a family, (2) creating a welcoming safe space, and (3) infusing love and happiness into everyday activities. We conclude by reflecting on the process of building these collaborative projects and their implementation. Our reflections and findings contribute new insights into utilizing YPAR approaches to research and showcase leading community assets and actors. Full article

Family acceptance is one of the strongest predictors of mental health in youth with diverse sexual orientations and genders (LGBTQ+) In Latinx communities, where the values of familismo, machismo, and religion may present as both strengths and barriers to facilitating family acceptance, culture-responsive programming can encourage LGBTQ+ youth acceptance. This study uses an exploratory evaluation case study design to learn how using participatory culture-specific intervention modeling (PCSIM) methods can facilitate Latinx maternal acceptance of LGBTQ+ youth and to identify the successes and challenges researchers encountered throughout the process to inform future intervention implementation efforts. A total of n = 16 Latinx community members participated in the brief psychoeducational programming. The participants were Latinx women—predominately mothers—and ranged in age from 14 to 55 years old. All the participants spoke Spanish and n = 4 also spoke English. The study presents the PCISM process and mothers’ evaluation of their experience and perceptions using mixed methods. The maternal reports indicated favorable qualitative acceptability and efficacy findings but demonstrated minimal statistical significance. This study conveys how researchers implemented the PCSIM approach to yield brief, culture-responsive programming with Latinx mothers to facilitate their openness towards accepting LGBTQ+ children in their homes and communities. The researchers reviewed how the practices from this current study can be used or amended in future culture-responsive programming that partners with Latinx mothers and community centers collaborating with this community to facilitate acceptance of LGBTQ+ youth to yield more generalizable and sustainable program development. Full article

Our qualitative study is a deep exploration into the underexamined notion of engagement with respect to undergraduate students who took up the role of co-researchers within an afterschool program designed to engage young students about environmental issues and sustainability practices. This research program is based on a community-based literacies framework that addresses all members (program leaders, graduate students, undergraduate students, and young students) as co-learners. This study explores the largely unknown experiences of undergraduate students in informal learning contexts, which broadly center youth experiences. We took a critically framed approach (i.e., mindful of institutionalized inequities–known as a kind of silencing—for traditionally marginalized populations) in our analysis of interview responses from 11 undergraduate students involved in an afterschool environmental program for young students living in a Latinx neighborhood in central California. Our analysis involved a two-phase process that began with a general thematic exploration of transcribed interviews followed by in-depth, microlevel transcription of salient instances regarding community engagement. Responses suggest that the community-based context enabled a deep engagement founded on shared cultural practices, life experiences, and engaging in disciplinary projects (e.g., building and planting an edible garden). This study is a contribution to the long-needed insights into the importance of community engagement and leadership experiences during undergraduate learning, particularly for traditionally marginalized students. Findings may be informative to educators and researchers striving to transform college experiences for diverse student populations. Full article

Drug use and depression co-occur and disproportionately affect Latinx sexual minority youth relative to their heterosexual Latinx peers. However, heterogeneity in co-occurring patterns of drug use and depressive symptoms is unknown. The objective of the current study was to identify patterns of drug use and depressive symptom trajectories and examine how these patterns varied between Latinx sexual minority youth and Latinx non-sexual minority youth. Latent class trajectory analysis identified distinct patterns of drug use and depressive symptom trajectories among 231 Latinx adolescents (Latinx sexual minority youth: n = 46, 21.4%; Latinx non-sexual minority youth: n = 169, 78.6%). After identifying class mean trajectories, we examined differences in mean trajectories across groups. A 3-class model was selected as the optimal class trajectory model for both groups, yet classes and trajectories differed. There were differences in initial levels of depression and drug use trajectories between both groups, as well as differences in patterns of drug use trajectories between both groups in two of the three classes. Given the variation in trajectory patterns, there is a need for practitioners to consider the unique needs of both groups to inform the development of preventive interventions for these two populations. Full article

This study assessed the effects of a 12-week afterschool mindfulness-based diet and exercise intervention on mental and physical health in Latinx and Black youth. One hundred forty-eight boys and girls (average age = 10.1 years, SD = 1.3 years; 52% girls; 72.3% Latinx) were randomized to either the experimental group (n = 80) or the control group (n = 68). The experimental group participants engaged in fitness yoga, kickboxing, and/or spinning sessions, and mindfulness practices (e.g., breathing, meditation, and mindful eating) twice per week for 12 weeks. The control group participants engaged in a recreational play session once per week for 12 weeks. All participants completed surveys (demographics, acculturation, anxiety, emotional eating, sleep, and food intake) and had their height, weight, and percent body fat measured pre- and post-intervention. Participants wore an accelerometer for 7 days pre- and post-intervention. Repeated measures analysis of covariance indicated that the experimental group participants reported lower scores in emotional eating, anxiety, and sleep latency post-intervention compared to the control group participants. Conversely, no significant differences were observed in physical activity between the experimental and control group participants post-intervention. These findings indicate that a mindfulness-based intervention has a positive effect on emotional eating, anxiety, and sleep latency among youth of color. Full article