A Participatory Approach to Exploring Well-Being Among Central American Unaccompanied Immigrant Youth Using Mapas Corporales and Testimonios

Background and Purpose:

Unaccompanied immigrant minors (UM’s) are a growing population of immigrants arriving in the United States, predominantly migrating from Mexico and Central American countries. Research indicates that UM’s commonly report exposure to trauma pre-, during, and post-migration and experience concurrent mental health challenges and acculturation-related stressors upon resettlement in the United States. There is limited research on how UM’s understand and describe their well-being post-resettlement, which has important implications for social work practice and mental health interventions. To bridge this gap, it is crucial to employ collaborative research methods that prioritize the perspectives of UM’s. This study explores how UM’s conceptualize their well-being after resettlement, including their adjustment experiences, mental and emotional well-being, and future aspirations.

Methods:

This participatory qualitative study builds on a community-engaged partnership with a local urban school district in California that serves newcomer students. Arts-based and storytelling methods were employed, including testimonio interviews and body mapping sessions. Body mapping involves engaging participants in using art materials to respond to interview questions on a life-sized body map, eliciting visual and symbolic data that reflects social, political, and economic processes alongside subjective experiences (Gastaldo et al., 2012). The body map (mapa corporal) is complemented by a testimonio, narrated by the participant, elaborating on the visual elements of the mapa corporal. The creation of mapas corporales arranged and analyzed with thematic analysis of testimonios serves as an innovative methodology that enriches and contextualizes the research findings.

The study engages n=10 UM’s between ages 18 to 24 and recruited via purposive snowball sampling at a high school. Participants were enrolled in school, had immigrated from Central America as an unaccompanied minor, and spoke Spanish. Three separate one-hour, in-person, semi-structured interview sessions elicited UM’s experiences of migration, resettlement, and well-being. A semi-structured interview protocol guided each session's body mapping activity and testimonio. Testimonio interviews were voice-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Photographs were taken of the completed mapas corporales to be analyzed alongside transcriptions. Common themes were identified in the testimonios utilizing thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) and illustrated with corresponding images and quotes.

Results:

Preliminary findings show that participants experience variation in reasons driving migration, adjustment experiences, mental and emotional well-being, and future aspirations. Additionally, findings suggest dynamics related to transnational family ties, gender, and work primacy play a role in shaping how UM’s conceptualize their well-being before migration and after resettlement. Lastly, the role of supportive relationships and networks emerged as as a protective factor for UM’s mental and emotional well-being.

Implications:

This study fills a significant gap by being the first known study to partner with UM’s by employing a participatory qualitative methodology, thus confirming the necessity of eliciting UM’s perspectives. Findings reveal important insights for social workers serving UM’s, emphasizing the need to examine the impact of transnational family ties, gender, and work primacy on their migration journey, resettlement experiences, and mental and emotional well-being. Moreover, social workers can facilitate connections between UM’s and supportive networks, fostering a sense of belonging and enhancing overall-wellbeing.