No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

This article explores how Mexican-American youth experience stress and trauma in a variety of arenas. Such youth utilize their energy, creativity, and resilience in order to cope with cultural tensions that arise from acculturative processes, role conflicts with family and peers, school challenges, and identity formation processes. Violence, in the form of internalized colonialism, external oppression, and actual violent acts (e.g., gang fights, suicides, and physical and=or sexual abuse), can be a major risk factor for negative outcomes such as substance abuse. However, this ethnographic study demonstrates that many Mexican-American adolescents navigate stressors and traumas in such a way that transforms the potentially distressing events into life-affirming rites of passage. This article explores these issues through qualitative data analyses from a study of Mexican-American youth in a Southwestern city.This ethnographic study examines the experiences of Mexican American youth in the Southwest, illuminating a number of stressors, traumas, and strengths. It considers the overlay of culture, ethnicity, and experience of stress and violence in personal and interpersonal arenas. While some of these experiences are common to all groups, this article illustrates the perspective of Mexican American youth working out their identities in the midst of their

This article discusses the findings of a qualitative study of a group of young Mexican Americans in a barrio, fictitiously called “Las Montañas Bonitas,” located in a large Southwestern city. Young Mexican Americans’perception of ethnic identity is the focus of this study. The ethnographic techniques of participant observation, focus groups, and semistructured interviews were used. The most poignant finding is the respondents’use of racial terms to define and understand acculturation differences. Also, the intense negative feelings expressed by Mexican Americans about less acculturated, monolingual, Spanish-speaking individuals are noted. Other findings suggest that respondents have strong connections with both contemporary youth culture and traditional culture. The overarching themes of respondent narratives relate to boundaries and loyalty in the face of internal colonialization.