“It's Something That Is There but Doesn't Really Get Addressed”: Latinx Youth Perspectives on Stress

• In Event: Constructing New Possibilities: Minoritized Youth Researchers and the Mental Health Crisis in K–12 Schools

Abstract

Structural racism, such as immigration fears, discrimination, and linguistic isolation, is a key factor that drives disproportionate stress among Latinx immigrant families (APA, 2021; McKnight et al., 2021). This stress reverberates across the family unit and impacts the mental health and well-being of Latinx youth, regardless of immigrant status (Torres et al., 2018). Existing stress management interventions are not well-suited to address the multisystemic nature of stress caused by structural racism given the focus on changing individual behavior (Lopez-Zerón et al., 2020). Furthermore, these interventions often fail to center the voices and lived experiences of communities directly impacted. Community stakeholders can contribute to our understanding of what interventions are most helpful in addressing structural stressors and provide critical perspectives regarding how to optimize implementation and sustainability (Blachman-Demner et al., 2017).

This paper builds off ongoing work with a community-based organization (CBO) where a community-academic team collaboratively developed a community-based, group intervention called FIESTA (Familias Inmigrantes Empoderandose contra eStrés y Tomando Acción). After a draft of the FIESTA curriculum was created, the team conducted preliminary usability testing of the intervention materials engaging multiple stakeholders, including parent- and youth-eligible participants. Using qualitative methodology, the current study seeks to center Latinx youth perspectives on stress, ways they manage this stress, and perceptions of the FIESTA curriculum.

Youth participants were recruited from the partnership CBO and affiliated organizations. Youth (n=9; 100% Latinx; 89% U.S.-born, Mage = 15.8) participated in two cohorts of three semi-structured qualitative focus groups. The facilitator led an activity from each proposed session of FIESTA and probed for feedback regarding strengths, adaptations, and acceptability. The research team conducted content analyses with inductive and deductive approaches to analyze the data. Youth shared how their experiences of stress impacted their well-being, especially in the context of residing in an immigrant family or being an immigrant themselves. For example, one participant discussed the stories her mother told her about coming to the United States and said, “she tells me like a bunch of stories and they’re interesting to hear, but also it’s like so much more pressure for like, I don’t know…like to do something good with your life.” When discussing the stigma around stress and mental health, another participant stated, “It's something that it's, like, there but doesn't really sometimes get addressed or brought awareness to.” Participants also shared ways to make the FIESTA content more engaging by suggesting role-play activities, creating more relevant vignettes, and adding more content (e.g. a presentation on scholarships).

This research demonstrates the importance of centering youth voice, particularly when designing community-based interventions. Not only does it help to make interventions relevant, feasible, and sustainable, it intentionally shifts the narrative from working on communities, to working with communities.

Authors

• Stephanie Torres, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Jillian Garcia, University of Illinois at Chicago