Latino Migrant Youth’s Views of Children’s Lifestyles: Differences in Guatemala vs. the United States

• In Event: Advancing and Understanding of Sibling Relationships

Abstract

Introduction. Unaccompanied migrant youth, especially those in U.S. agriculture, are a unique group of migrant workers who live without their parents and come to the U.S. in pursue of work (Peoples et al., 2010). In the U.S., while agricultural employment for minors (i.e., 17 years old and younger) varies based on state, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) identifies 16 years of age as the minimum age for employment during school academic year. Moreover, youth who are 14 or 15 years old may work in agriculture outside school hours, and those who are 12 and 13 years old may perform farm work outside school hours with parental consent or work where their parents do farm work (United States Department of Labor, 2017). Given that youth have different childhood upbringings (Majeed, 2018), especially in their participation of labor, family values, and work-related practices (Telzer & Fuligni, 2009), it is possible that unaccompanied Latino migrant youth (LMY) are exempt from these laws. That is, being the main provider of their own welfare (Carlos Chavez et al., 2022) and that of their families back in their home countries (Girón Solórzano, 2010) may put LMY in a unique and unintended lifestyle that has yet to be explored in adolescent research. Therefore, the goal of this study was to understand the views LMY in agriculture have toward children’s lifestyle in their country of origin and in the U.S. We address two core research questions:
What is life like for LMY in their home countries and in the U.S.?
What do LMY believe are the biggest differences between themselves and youth their age in the U.S.?

Method. One-on-one audio-voice recorded interviews were conducted in Spanish with N=31 LMY (aged 15-20) in Florida. We applied thematic analysis to a sub-sample (n=7) to explore common household chores in their home countries, childhood challenges vs. current challenges, and resemblances LMY observe among non-migrant children in the U.S. We used pseudo names to protect participants’ information.
Preliminary results. Three main interconnected themes were identified while growing up in their countries of origin: First, “Working in the milpa [corn] fields.” About 4/7 stated working in agriculture was a way to contribute to the wellbeing of the household. Second, “Helping to raise siblings.” Most youth (6/7) had the responsibility to look after their younger siblings while their parents were at work. Third, “family’s struggle with money.” All LMY stated experiencing poverty and limited resources in their home countries. One noticeable difference LMY observed from youth in the U.S. Specifically, many children in the U.S. ‘study and don’t work’ while many youths in their home countries ‘don’t study’ and instead ‘work for money.’

Conclusion. Analyses are underway to confirm these themes across all 31 LMY and report how LMY and their circumstances showcase a similar experience in which youth are aware of the stark contrast in lifestyles of migrant workers, such as themselves. The results will help bring to surface patterns of migrant youth identity and cultural socialization of adolescent development

Authors

• Khushi Bypan, Arizona State University
  Presenting Author

• Fiorella L. Carlos Chavez, Arizona State University