Understanding Latina/o adolescents’ intersectional experiences of discrimination.

Abstract

This study examines whether Latina/o adolescents assess perceived discrimination as being due to distinct subgroups of intersecting social identities. In addition, we examined the relations between subgroups of perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms and externalizing behaviors. This study utilizes intersectional and person-centered approaches with a sample of 320 Latina/o adolescents (M age = 15.6; 55% female) who were attending two midwestern high schools. An exploratory latent class analysis of attributions of perceived discrimination revealed a 3-class solution characterized as: Single Attribution (55%), Few Attributions (34%), and Many Intersectional Attributions (10%). The classes were differentiated by the number of social identities students attributed to their discriminatory experiences. Participants in the Single Attribution class attributed their perceived discrimination to an average of one social identity, and those in the Many Intersectional Attributions made attributions to seven social identities on average. Further, a greater number of social identities to which adolescents attributed perceived discrimination was associated with increased depressive symptoms and externalizing behaviors. Findings underscore the importance of accounting for adolescents' multiple social identities when investigating how discriminatory and oppressive systems influence Latina/o youth. Public Significance StatementLittle is known about the intersection of multiple sources of discrimination and its relation to Latina/o adolescents' well-being. Findings from this study revealed that Latina/o adolescents attributed their discrimination experiences to multiple oppressed social identities, with the associations to depressive symptoms and externalizing behaviors increasing as their attributions increased.

Understanding how Latinx youth cope with discrimination: A call to action.

“…Understanding the experiences of discrimination and how one might cope with them requires a nuanced understanding of how factors such as race, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, phenotype, and socioeconomic status can magnify or shape one’s discriminatory experiences. Intersectionality theory was first introduced by Black feminists and scholars and refers to the myriad of ways in which systems of oppression and privilege shapes one’s lived experiences and access to power and resources (Crenshaw, 1989; Mora et al, 2023). Adolescents have multiple social identities that influence their exposure to discrimination and the coping behaviors they are most likely to engage in.…”