Poster #37 - A qualitative exploration of risk factors that impact newcomer immigrant adolescents' psychosocial development

• In Event: 3-001 - Poster Session 2 during Breakfast

Abstract

Immigrants account for 25 percent of all youth in the United States (Salas-Wright, Vaughn, Schwartz, & Cordova, 2016), and recently arrived “newcomers” are the fastest growing population. Research demonstrates high levels of risky behavior (i.e., aggression, conduct problems, substance use) among newcomer adolescents (Cano et al., 2015).  In non-immigrant samples, similar behaviors are linked to prior experiences of community violence and peer aggression, as well as to emotional outcomes like psychological distress (Voisin & Hong, 2012; Craig, Peters, & Konarski, 1998).  While this risk trajectory is well-established among non-immigrant adolescents, further research is needed to examine specific predictors of risky behaviors among newcomer immigrants.  The use of secondary qualitative data is a promising approach for exploring predictors of risky behavior and informing prevention efforts that foster resilient developmental trajectories.

The present study used archival qualitative data to explore predictors of risky behaviors among newcomer immigrant adolescents.  Data were drawn from the “Cultural Transitions” dataset (e.g., Patel et al., 2016) and were originally collected through semi-structured interviews conducted at two public high schools with 66 participants from around the world (Mage=16.44).  Researchers posed open-ended questions regarding community stressors and protective factors related to psychosocial development.  Two independent researchers coded the data for emergent themes using content analysis (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005).

Results illustrate two central predictors of risky behavior: peer hassles and community violence, and subthemes related to peer aggression, language-based discrimination, and psychological distress. Although not our primary focus, results suggest that community-based sociocultural resources, such as neighborhood ethnic density, may play a protective role. Study results are noteworthy given extant developmental literature with non-immigrant adolescents that demonstrates the negative effects of peer victimization, including academic difficulties and (Eisenberg, Neumark-Sztainer, & Perry, 2003) psychological distress (Garrido, Culhane, Raviv, & Taussig, 2010). Similarly, exposure to community violence has been linked to substance abuse (Vermeiren et al., 2003), delinquency, and subsequent victimization (Cuevas, Finkelhor, Turner, & Ormrod, 2007). This study deepens understanding of newcomer adolescents’ experiences regarding important risk factors, which can inform the development of effective prevention efforts. One possibility is capitalizing on the protective role of neighborhood ethnic density, which has been explored among various ethnic minority populations (e.g., Anderson, Leventhal, & Dupere, 2014), but never among newcomer adolescents. This potential resource merits further study as a pathway toward resilience. A nuanced, developmental perspective on risk and resilience can lead to informed methods of addressing predictors of risky behaviors.

Authors

• Sarah Tilzey, Palo Alto University
  Presenting Author

• Mercedes Palacios, Palo Alto University

• Julia Kline, Palo Alto University

• Sita G. Patel, Palo Alto University