Parental Detention and Deportation and the Academic Functioning Latino Citizen Children

• In Event: 2-178 - Children of Immigrants' Health: Mobilizing Research, Policy and Practice in a Time of Crisis

Integrative Statement

With the increasing numbers of detention and deportations, more than 4.5 million of children of immigrants are at risk of experiencing psychological distress and trauma due to abrupt and forced family separation. Trauma and psychological distress are associated with poor academic performance. This presentation examines parents immigration status and explores its effects on the academic achievement, academic problems and adaptive skills of Latino, school-aged children. This multiple-informant study (parents, teachers and clinicians) examined the functioning of 96 Latino citizen children between the ages of 6-12 years. Children were of parents who have been detained or deported, unauthorized without contact with ICE, or parents who were legal permanent residents (LPRs). Standardized measures include TONI-3 and teacher and parent BASC-2 and CAFAS. Child outcomes by parental immigration status were examined using a series of univariate and multivariate analysis of variance (ANOVA and MANOVA). Findings revealed that all three groups of children had similar intelligence potentials and were educated in similarly low ranked schools. According to teacher report, children of detained and deported parents exhibited more school problems and lower adaptive functioning than did children of unauthorized status with no prior contact with immigration enforcement or children whose parents were LPRs. Clinicians reports also revealed increase in academic functioning for children of detained and deported parents compared to their peers. Overall, findings highlight the ill effects that parental precarious immigration status has on academic performance and behaviors within school settings. Results highlight the importance of access to early intervention services and need for additional trauma-informed training for teachers working with children of immigrants.

Authors

• Maria Mechure, Fuller Graduate School of Psychology
  Presenting Author

• Lisseth Rojas-Flores, Fuller Graduate School of Psychology
  Non-Presenting Author

• Mari Clements, Fuller Graduate School of Psychology
  Non-Presenting Author