Understanding Indigenous Adolescent Discrimination in Rural Guatemala

BACKGROUND & PURPOSE: Indigenous communities in the Latin America region comprise 800 indigenous peoples and a population close to 45 million (ECLAC, 2014). Guatemala has the second highest percentage of indigenous population in the region, accounting for almost 40% of the population. Within the 23 Maya nations in Guatemala, youth are arguably the most marginalized group (UNDP, 2015). Indigenous youth are facing extraordinary difficult conditions, including social and economic marginalization, high levels of unemployment, high elementary school dropout rate, lack of access to health and reproductive services, and increasing incidence of crime and insecurity (USAID, 2012). Discrimination is defined as “an action or practice that excludes, disadvantages, or merely differentiates between individuals or groups of individuals on the basis of some ascribed or perceived trait” (Kohler-Hausmann., 2011), such as gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, disability, and age. Using the most comprehensive database available of mostly indigenous youth from the Western Highlands region (indigenous Maya population close 90%), this study sought to better understand discrimination among rural indigenous youth.

METHODS: This study was conducted as part of a large report, “Understanding the Youth Perspective in the Western Highlands” (USAID, 2015). This is a sub-sample of the larger research that included rural and urban youth (n= 2448) from 5 departments and 12 municipalities. The study employed a three-stage stratified sample using three main criteria: gender, area, and ethnic self-identification. A total sub-sample of 1749 rural indigenous youth, 879 males and 870 females ages, 15 to 24 were analyzed for this study. For analysis purposes, the sample was divided in two categories: adolescents aged 15 to 19 (n=895, M=16.68, SD=1.38) and young adults aged 20 to 24 (n=854, M=21., SD=3.28). Five domains of discrimination were created based on items using a 6-point Likert-type scale ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.” These discrimination domains included: gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, disability, and age. Differences by gender and age for each domain were tested using ANOVA.

RESULTS: The highest perceptions of discrimination were found in the domain of sexual orientation, followed by age (discriminating against youth), and disability. Though statistically significant differences were found among group means in the gender domain, it seems that traditional gender roles were widely accepted (overall lower scores).  Notably, there were no statistically significant differences across group means in the domain of race/ethnicity. The scores in this domain were above the average, reflecting the self-discrimination based on ethnicity of the rural indigenous youth.    

CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: These findings contribute to the growing evidence that indigenous youth do experience and perceive discrimination, though with significant differences across different domains. These findings also suggest the pervasive discrimination of rural indigenous youth, being delivered even by adults from their own communities. The data suggest that rural indigenous youth experienced discrimination for different reasons, but it is unclear if their gender or age mediate or moderate these perceptions. This study has implications for social workers interested in delivering culturally competent interventions to rural indigenous youth, by understanding patterns of discrimination in this marginalized population.