Contextualizing Experiences of Cultural Stress: A Qualitative Exploration Among Hispanic/Latinx Youth in Miami and Los Angeles

• Published in: Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology 2024-10, Vol.30 (4), p.613-623
• Main Authors: Zeledon, Ingrid, Meca, Alan, Duque, Maria, Lee, Ryan, Herzig, Emma, Rodriguez, Viviana, Anderson, Jackson D., West, Amy, Unger, Jennifer B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; COVID-19 - ethnology; COVID-19 - psychology; Emigrants and Immigrants - psychology; Family; Female; Florida; Hispanic or Latino - psychology; Human; Humans; Immigration; Language; Latinos/Latinas; Los Angeles; Male; Marginalization; Politics; Qualitative Research; SARS-CoV-2; Sociocultural Factors; Stress; Stress, Psychological - ethnology; Stress, Psychological - psychology
• ISSN: 1099-9809; 1939-0106
• DOI: 10.1037/cdp0000689

Objectives: Hispanic/Latinx youth vary in their immigration heritage (e.g., country of origin, familial migration history, etc.) and the structure of their communities. This study is a qualitative exploration of Hispanic/Latinx youth experiences of cultural stress in Miami and Los Angeles in 2021. Method: A total of 23 Hispanic/Latinx adolescents in Los Angeles (n = 12) and Miami (n = 11) provided in-depth interviews to assess: (a) appraisals of family immigration history and (b) experiences across three cultural stressors: sociopolitical, language brokering, and intragroup marginalization. Interviews were analyzed using a general inductive analytic approach and case comparison methodology to assess differences across sites. Results: For appraisals of family immigration history, gratitude and hope emerged as positive emotions experienced when youth reflected on their immigrant origins. Miami participants reported perceived worsening of sociopolitical stress as a result of changes in political administration whereas participants in Los Angeles felt a sense of relief. Participants in Miami and Los Angeles reported similar strengths and challenges in language brokering with COVID-19 variedly impacting youth's perceived language brokering stress. Last, to youth intragroup marginalization experienced from family members was experienced as more detrimental than from peers, and they reported the use of cognitive reframes to cope. Conclusion: Cultural stressors are dynamic and diverse. This study further informs cultural stress theory by cataloging how families' immigration history and national current events inform experiences of stress among youth. Public Significance Statement In order to build interventions that address cultural and immigration related stressors among Hispanic/Latinx youth in the United States, it is important to understand the heterogeneity in experiences and saliency of specific cultural stressors. This study contextualizes experiences of cultural stress by analyzing differences across two cultural enclave sites during a national transition of political administration.