Barriers and Bridges to Well-Being for Latinx Immigrant Youth in a Newer Latinx Destination: A Digital Narrative Inquiry

Background and Purpose: An increasing number of Latinx young people in the United States are facing unique challenges to attaining and maintaining well-being as residents of newer Latino destinations. The purpose of this study is to enhance understandings of the interlocking, multi-level systems that lead to social and health disparities for Latinx youth in newer Latinx destinations to inform social service practice, policy, and research and promote Latinx youth’s well-being.

Methods: This study used community-based participatory methods to analyze the testimonios of 12 Latinx immigrant youth (18-21) living in a newer Latinx destination who participated in a digital narrative research project. The research process was participatory, flexible, and iterative, engaging participants in data collection and analysis. Data was analyzed in three stages using a critical narrative approach.

Results: Findings are interpreted and discussed through the lens of the Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST), revealing Latinx young people’s perspectives on the barriers to experiencing well-being, the “bridges” that help them to experience well-being in spite of those barriers, and the ways in which broader contexts and identities shape their lived experiences. Results reveal that changes in family arrangements, educational barriers, and challenges of a new sociocultural context pose barriers to well-being, in the face of which youth navigate toward psychological, relational, and cultural supports.

Conclusions and Implications: This study offers evidence of the detrimental health impacts of oppression on Latinx youth in newer Latinx destinations, as well as the assets, resources, coping skills, and meaning-making processes that support their well-being. Practitioners and service providers must recognize the importance of Latinx youth’s identities as sources of both vulnerability and strength, and actively work against racism and nativism in policy and practice.