Systems of Oppression: The Impact of Discrimination on Latinx Immigrant Adolescents’ Well‐Being and Development

Abstract

With over 400 harmful immigration policy changes in the past 4 years, Latinx adolescents and families nationwide are developing within a context of extreme anti-immigrant sentiment (Dismantling and reconstructing the U.S. immigration system: A catalog of changes under the Trump presidency, Migration Policy Institute, 2020). This paper introduces the Multitiered Model of Oppression and Discrimination (MMOD), a conceptual model for understanding the impacts of multiple levels of discrimination on the well-being and development of Latinx immigrant adolescents. Interpersonal discrimination (

Dismantling Systems and Improving Contexts to Support the Development of BIPOC Youth

“…Findings in this issue support the MMOD model (Torres et al, 2022) 2022) found that immigrant and undocumented adolescents reported exclusion by peers and school staff in virtual (e.g., social media and virtual video games) and nonvirtual settings. Undocumented students described being told that they were taking "someone else's space" in school because places like schools are connected to governments, and thus, they should only attend schools within governments in which they were citizens (L opez Hern andez et al, 2022).…”

“…Qualitative approaches play a valuable role in generating knowledge about systems of oppression. Studies in this special issue center on the voices of BIPOC youth and illustrate their meaning‐making about systems of oppression, the different contexts and processes by which racial and other forms of oppression are exacted on particular groups of youth, and developmental patterns in recognizing and understanding life experiences that are oppressive (Harris & Kruger, 2022; López Hernández, 2022; Pasco et al., 2022; Sánchez et al., 2022; Torres et al., 2022). This work illustrates the everyday spaces where racialized forms of oppression occur—such as schools, peer groups, social media, restaurants, and public transit—as well as institutions such as police and exclusionary policies, such as anti‐immigration laws.…”

“…Black To extend understanding of the anti-immigrant and systemic forces at play in the lives of immigrant children, Torres et al (2022) developed a theoretical model titled the "multitiered model of oppression and discrimination" (MMOD). The model is based on principles from developmentalcontextual (Bronfenbrenner, 1989, Garc ıa Coll et al, 1996 and discrimination (Pincus, 1996;Thompson, 2003) theories.…”

“…Moreover, a lack of explicit attention to the specific issues and needs of youth with undocumented status in schools can mean that these youth and their families live in fear of deportation (S anchez et al, 2022) et al, 2022). Peers are common perpetrators of discrimination and microaggressions against BIPOC youth (Chancy et al, 2022;Torres et al, 2022), and these acts are often overlooked by teachers and school administrators. Schools urgently need to take explicit steps to be anti-racist in their curricula, relationships, and climates.…”

“…Lastly, new conceptual models are introduced in this issue that illustrates theoretical innovation and tremendous potential to advance the field on systems of oppression affecting BIPOC adolescents (e.g., Galán et al., 2022; Torres et al., 2022). A major contribution of these new models is that they articulate ways of conceptualizing the role of structural, institutional, and overlapping systems of racism, including the historical roots and legacies of these systems, on adolescent development.…”