3-162 - Underrepresented and Underserved: Dilemmas and Strategies to Represent “Vulnerable” Youth in Research, Practice, and Policy

Session Type: Conversation Roundtable

Integrative Statement

Despite the strides in developmental science, there remain communities of children and youth whose lives and experiences are underrepresented in research, which often means these young people are underserved in practice and policy. In this conversation roundtable, three renowned scholars come together to discuss data collection with historically underrepresented children and youth (often referred to as “vulnerable”) including immigrant and undocumented youth (Suárez-Orozco), youth of color (Rivas-Drake), and LGBTQ youth (Russell). They identify perceived and real dilemmas to representing “vulnerable” youth in research and therefore policy. Dilemmas may be conceptual and epistemological such that research with underrepresented populations often falls within a risk/resilience binary. Panelists also discuss the need for ethical, responsible, and trustful research that balances young people’s right to participate in research and have that information kept private. Last, they share the strategies they have used to recruit and retain underrepresented youth over time. They identify complexities to categorizing young people’s identities and experiences and data analytic strategies that may address these. Taken together, these leaders in the field of developmental science point toward best practices to ensure underrepresented children and youth are no longer invisible in research, practice, and policy. In doing so, they highlight the potential for developmental science to serve as a pathway for social change.

Sub Unit

• Diversity, Equity & Social Justice

Moderator

• Shannon Snapp, California State University Monterey Bay

Panelists

• Carola Suarez Orozco, UCLA

• Stephen Russell, University of Texas

• Deborah Rivas-Drake, University of Michigan