Spanish-speaking family members and non-Spanish speakers’ supportive and unsupportive communication for Latina/o/x language brokers

• Published in: Journal of social and personal relationships 2021-11, Vol.38 (11), p.3387-3413
• Main Authors: Murillo, Roselia Mendez, Kam, Jennifer A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescents; Children; Communication; Families & family life; Hispanic Americans; Interpreting; Language; Latin American cultural groups; Relatives; Spanish language; Supportive communication
• ISSN: 0265-4075; 1460-3608
• DOI: 10.1177/02654075211031294

Past research with Latina/o/x adolescent samples has found that language brokering can be a positive experience, but at times, stressful. Although many factors can contribute to these different brokering experiences, the ways in which Spanish-speaking family members and non-Spanish speakers support (or do not support) Latina/o/x adolescent children during their brokering exchanges can be a contributing factor. To better understand how Spanish-speaking family members and non-Spanish speakers can support young brokers, we interviewed 31 Latina/o/x early adolescent brokers. Our thematic analysis revealed that when brokers reported on family, the most prevalent type of supportive communication received was informational supportive communication. Brokers also reported that their family engaged in unsupportive emotional communication, but when family provided supportive communication, brokers felt efficacious and proud for helping their family. In addition, most brokers reported receiving informational supportive communication from non-Spanish speakers. Nevertheless, some brokers also reported that non-Spanish speakers provided limited informational supportive communication (i.e., absence of supportive communication). Our findings reveal what supportive and unsupportive communication might look like for brokers and how supportive communication can contribute to positive experiences for brokers.