Documentation status socialization among Latinx immigrant parents

Abstract

Discriminatory legislation targeting Latinx immigrants in the United States has shifted how parents communicate with their children about the hostile political climate. One way that Latinx parents talk about and prepare their children to face prejudice is through ethnic‐racial socialization, which can promote children's positive development. Few scholars, however, have focused on how Latinx immigrant families with precarious documentation status socialize their children around issues of immigration, documentation status, and the potential for family separation. The current study seeks to broaden our understanding and conceptualization of ethnic‐racial socialization practices among Latinx immigrant families living in the United States to include documentation status socialization to better capture the messages parents transmit to their children about the causes and potential impacts of their documentation status. Thirty‐nine Latinx immigrant mothers aged 35–53 (M = 41.66), (22 undocumented, 17 documented) were interviewed regarding the ways in which their documentation status informs their ethnic‐racial socialization practices. Five subthemes of Documentation Status Socialization were identified among both undocumented and documented parents. Example of subthemes included Limitations and Restrictions of Undocumented Status, and Documentation Privilege, in which parents discussed the limitation of being undocumented as well as the privilege that comes with the legal documentation status with their youth. Our findings yield important implications for practice and research alike.

Documentation Status Socialization as an Ethnic-racial Socialization Dimension: Incorporating the Experience of Mixed-status Latinx Families

“…Through documentation status socialization, Latinx parents teach their children about not only the inequities experienced by members of their ethnic group but also the ways in which the family has prepared to handle these challenges (Lykes et al, 2013;Cross et al, 2021). The desire to shield children from an uncertain future is reflected in these parents' ERS, which differs from that of parents not at risk for deportation.…”

“…In a study conducted with Latinx immigrants living in the Midwest, documentation status socialization was reportedly part of the ERS of both documented and undocumented parents. This socialization also included parents helping their children view border crossing as necessary for survival and not always a choice (Cross et al, 2021). In addition, in a review of the ERS literature of Latinx families, Ayón et al (2020) highlighted a study in which Latinx immigrant parents reported teaching their children differences in the birthplace and documentation status of members of the same family.…”

“…Quantitative studies exploring the ERS of Latinx families should rely on ERS measures that are more culturally relevant, such as the one developed by Ayón (2018), which accounts for more dimensions of ERS representing the broader range of experiences of Latinx immigrant families. Lastly, future research exploring documentation status socialization should also focus on the positive coping strategies and adaptations made by immigrant family to diminish the negative impact of the broader sociopolitical environment on their families (Cross et al, 2021). Examining the ERS of these families through a strengths-based lens will allow for a better understanding of how mixed-status communities keep moving forward despite many obstacles imposed by American society and legislation while raising civically minded and engaged children.…”

Every Day Matters: Using Daily Methods to Understand Oppression and BIPOC Youth Development in Context

“…For example, qualitative research has documented how community‐level police violence may shape BIPOC young people’s everyday fear and worry over getting involved with the police (Smith Lee & Robinson, 2019). There is also work documenting how anti‐immigration policies create fear and anxiety for families with undocumented status (Cardoso et al., 2021), shaping the content of family communications in everyday life (Cross et al., 2021). Research that looks into these everyday experiences will help us better understand how structural‐level oppression becomes relevant in adolescents’ lives.…”

The impact of migration on child and adolescent development: The role of socialization experiences in family and school

“…This special issue aims at narrowing gaps in the literature by bringing together contributions that extend our knowledge on the role of multiple socialization experiences. In doing so, it takes a particular focus on indicators of youth's psychological and social (mal‐)adjustment and highlights a great variety of experiences in family (Cross et al, 2021; Davis et al., 2021), school (Caravita et al., 2021; Civitillo et al. 2021; Kunyu et al., 2021; Miklikowska et al, 2021; Oczlon et al., 2021; Solomontos‐Kountouri & Strohmeier, 2021) and dynamics that arise from the interplay of both contexts (Bayram Özdemir et al., 2021; Shah et al., 2021).…”