abstract: This study explores how a teen center within a local police department in California impacts the lives of local Latinx youth. Through a mixed methods approach of surveys, focus groups, and interviews, the study explores Mexican American youth, the most populous Latinx youth in the United States who are uniquely challenged by varying immigration statuses, mental health, and academic barriers. Theoretically, the study draws out intersections unique to the Latinx youth experiences growing up in America and engages in inter-disciplinary debates about inequities in health and education and policing practices. These intersections and debates are addressed through in-depth qualitative analysis of three participant groups: current youth participants of the teen center’s Youth Leadership Council (YLC), alumni of the YLC, and adult decision makers of the program. Pre- and post-surveys and focus groups are conducted with the youth participants over the span of a full year, while they take part in the teen center program, capturing how the teen center directly impacts their academic achievements, feelings of belonging, mental health, and attitudes towards law enforcement, over time. Interviews with alumni and key decision makers of the teen center further reveal broader patters in how the YLC program positively impacts the lives of Latinx youth and the challenges it faces when federal immigration enforcement complicates local policy relations with local communities. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Social Justice and Human Rights 2019

<p>  </p> <p>Latinx adolescents from immigrant families often face more challenges than their peers due to simultaneously navigating the demands of two cultures. Many Latinx children are expected to contribute to the household in multiple ways, such as engagement in tasks like filial responsibility, which can impact their development. Filial responsibility is composed of three dimensions 1) instrumental caregiving (e.g., cleaning, translating, and paying bills), 2) emotional caregiving (e.g., providing emotional support to the family), and 3) perceived unfairness (i.e., feelings about whether caregiving tasks are fair). The present study aimed to examine the dimensions of filial responsibility and their relations to internalizing and externalizing problems in Latinx youth and whether perceived unfairness acted as a mediator. Participants were 176 Latinx youth (<em>M</em>age = 15.51 years, 66% female). Our SEM model demonstrated that filial responsibility (instrumental and emotional caregiving) did not have a mediating effect on perceived unfairness in youth adjustment.  Evidence was found for filial responsibility (emotional and instrumental caregiving) being differentially related to youth adjustment directly over time. Instrumental caregiving at T1 negatively predicted internalizing behaviors at T2, while T1 emotional caregiving positively predicted both internalizing and externalizing behaviors at T2 (controlling for prior youth adjustment). Results demonstrate the importance of independently examining the impact of instrumental and emotional caregiving on youth adjustment. Future studies should assess the impact of caregiving tasks on other youth outcomes such as academic success. </p>

Latinx adolescents report higher levels of anxiety and depression symptoms (i.e., internalizing symptoms) compared to other ethnic groups. Research studies primarily conducted with European American youth have concluded that difficulties in emotion regulation and parent-adolescent conflict are associated with an increased risk for youth internalizing symptoms. Additionally, an important Latinx cultural value, familism, has been identified as a protective factor for internalizing symptoms for Latinx adolescents. Therefore, the current study examined how familism, parent-adolescent conflict, and difficulties in emotion regulation interact to influence the development of internalizing symptoms among Latinx adolescents. It was hypothesized that (a) parent-adolescent conflict and difficulties in emotion regulation would be positively correlated with internalizing symptoms, (b) a mediation model of the association between parent-adolescent conflict and internalizing symptoms through difficulties in emotion regulation would be supported, (c) familism would be negatively correlated with internalizing symptoms, and (e) familism would moderate the relation between parent-adolescent conflict and difficulties in emotion regulation. Lastly, this project explored whether familism would moderate the mediation model of the association between parent-adolescent conflict and internalizing symptoms through difficulties in emotion regulation. To test this, data from the Salud de los Adolescentes Latinos study, which recruited Latinx adolescents (N = 92) from Northern Utah, was analyzed. Results from the study showed that higher levels of parent-adolescent conflict, difficulties in emotion regulation, and the future support subscale of familism were associated with an increased risk for internalizing symptoms among Latinx adolescents. Based on previous research, it was predicted that higher levels of familism would be associated with lower levels of internalizing symptoms, showing a protective effect. However, an association in the opposite direction was found, indicating that in this study familism served as a risk factor. In addition, familism did not moderate the association between parent-adolescent conflict and difficulties in emotion regulation nor the mediation model tested from the second study aim. Future studies should investigate the specific risk and protective properties of familism for Latinx adolescents. Findings also indicated that the association between parent-adolescent conflict and internalizing symptoms was partially explained through difficulties in emotion regulation. In other words, higher parent-adolescent conflict was associated with more adolescent difficulties in emotion regulation, which subsequently increased the risk for internalizing symptoms. These findings suggest that parent-adolescent conflict and difficulties in emotion regulation are risk factors for Latinx youth internalizing problems. Therefore, prevention and intervention efforts should target parent-adolescent conflict and difficulties in emotion regulation to reduce the risk for internalizing symptoms among Latinx adolescents.