Systems of Oppression: The Impact of Discrimination on Latinx Immigrant Adolescents' Well-Being and Development

J Res Adolesc. 2022 Jun;32(2):501-517. doi: 10.1111/jora.12751. Epub 2022 Apr 1.

Abstract

With over 400 harmful immigration policy changes in the past 4 years, Latinx adolescents and families nationwide are developing within a context of extreme anti-immigrant sentiment (Dismantling and reconstructing the U.S. immigration system: A catalog of changes under the Trump presidency, Migration Policy Institute, 2020). This paper introduces the Multitiered Model of Oppression and Discrimination (MMOD), a conceptual model for understanding the impacts of multiple levels of discrimination on the well-being and development of Latinx immigrant adolescents. Interpersonal discrimination (Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 2010, 32, 259), community-held stereotypes (Social Psychology of Education, 2001, 5, 201), institutional policies (Children and Youth Services Review, 2018, 87, 192), and structural practices (Journal of Criminal Justice, 2020, 66, 1) can negatively impact well-being and development among these adolescents. Culturally sustaining interventions, civic engagement and mobilization, and policies targeting inequitable policies and practices will provide healing and an avenue for liberation.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Child
  • Emigrants and Immigrants*
  • Emigration and Immigration
  • Hispanic or Latino
  • Humans
  • Mental Disorders*
  • Race Relations