Coping With Discrimination Among Mexican Descent Adolescents

Abstract

The current research is designed to explore the relationship among discrimination stress, coping strategies, and self-esteem among Mexican descent youth ( N = 73, age 11-15 years). Results suggest that primary control engagement and disengagement coping strategies are positively associated with discrimination stress. Furthermore, self-esteem is predicted by an interaction of primary control engagement coping and discrimination stress, such that at higher levels of discrimination stress, youth who engaged in more primary control engagement coping reported higher self-esteem. The authors' findings indicate that Mexican descent youth are actively finding ways to cope with the common experience of negative stereotypes and prejudice, such that their self-esteem is protected from the stressful impact of discrimination and prejudice. Implications of these findings for Latino/a youth resilience are discussed.

Developmental Implications of Discrimination

“…In the discrimination and racism literature, "stress" itself can be directly attributed to discriminationyielding its own form of daily stress that children and adolescents must learn to navigate. In using perceived discrimination stress to predict self-esteem levels over time, Edwards and Romero (2008) found that, in a sample of U.S. adolescents of Mexican descent, discrimination stress was moderately negatively associated with self-esteem. As youth reported more discrimination stress, their self-reported self-esteem levels also tended to decrease.…”

“…Previously mentioned studies have linked the actual acts of discrimination with sharp decreases in self-esteem, particularly for female adolescents. Nevertheless, Edwards and Romero (2008) have established that it is not only the acts themselves that can be detrimental to the well-being and development of youth. The stress surrounding the expectation for discrimination, or in navigating the emotional path left in its wake, can play an equally damaging role.…”

Professional School Counselor Perceptions of Systemic Barriers Affecting Latino Students: Implications for Socially Just Preparation and Practice

“…Biased-based bullying and racially/ethnically-motivated perceived discrimination contribute to poor health and academic outcomes among all youth (Russell, Sinclair, Poteat, & Koenig, 2012). Higher levels of perceived ethnicity-related discrimination have been found to contribute to depression (Edwards & Romero, 2008) and anxiety (Arrendondo et al, 2014) in Latino youth, contributing further to the systemic barriers and social injustice facing this population.…”

“…Likewise, Latino youth, in particular, encounter discrimination because of the English proficiency, documentation status, and skin color (Edwards & Romero, 2008).…”

Impacts of Arizona’s SB 1070 on Mexican American Students’ Stress, School Attachment, and Grades

“…Dion and Kawakami's (1996) work investigating discrimination against both immigrants and people of color reveals that both perceived and real discrimination are significant insofar as they are markers of real discriminatory experiences that have a "psychological reality" (p. 204) for its victims. This reality occurs on a daily basis and includes not just prejudicial rhetoric based on hostile stereotypes, but also deleterious activities directed at people based on their race or ethnicity (Edwards & Romero, 2008). The studies highlighted below describe Mexican heritage youth perceptions of such discrimination, its effect on their schooling aspirations and achievement, and the stress associated with discrimination.…”