Annotated Bibliography
Andrews, A. R. III, Haws, J. K., Acosta, L. M., Acosta Canchila, M. N., Carlo, G., Grant, K. M., & Ramos, A. K. (2020). Combinatorial effects of discrimination, legal status fears, adverse childhood experiences, and harsh working conditions among Latino migrant farmworkers: Testing learned helplessness hypotheses. Journal of Latinx Psychology, 8(3), 179–201.
The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of discrimination, legal status fears, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and harsh working conditions on Latino migrant farmworkers. The literature cited within the first section of the article primarily reviewed previous research regarding harsh working conditions for Latinos. There were also a few sections where previous research is used to support the idea that discrimination, legal fears and ACEs could play a role in those harsh working conditions. Most of the research cited was fairly relevant and the majority seems to have been from within the last ten years or so. For this study they recruited 241 migrant farmworkers from the midwestern US during the summer months of 2016. All the participants completed an interview and then were given $15 for their participation. The interview consisted of multiple demographic questions as well as a combination of multiple scales to assess ACEs, depression, discrimination, harsh working conditions, etc. The authors hypothesized that discrimination will be associated with higher degrees of harsh working conditions which will then be associated with higher depressive and anxiety symptoms and they found this hypothesis to be very well supported by the study. They also found support for their second hypothesis which was that legal status fears are positively associated with discrimination and harsh working conditions, which again is associated with higher depression and anxiety. They also interpreted their results through a learned helplessness framework and found that the stressors these migrant workers experience may reduce their ability to leave or change their harsh working environment. Implications that are most meaningful for my current study include the discussion of the harsh work environments and how that impacts the health of Latino migrant workers. There are a few limitations of the study but one of the most important to note is that the convenience sample of data may not be generalizable to all Latino migrant workers.
Cervantes, A., Torres Fernandez, I., & Flores Carmona, J. (2019). Nosotros Importamos (We Matter): The Use of Testimonios with Latino Male Adolescents in Group Counseling. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 14 (2), 181-192
The purpose of this study was to examine how using testimonios (testimonies) with Latino male adolescents can be beneficial in group counseling. The literature cited within the first section covers adolescent Latinx mental health, previously used interventions for Latinx adolescents, and then a background on testimonios. Most of the research used very relevant and almost all the references articles were from the 2000’s or later. In this study the authors used and interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach to conduct interviews and gather data. 8 students participated in the study (group counseling sessions). 7 of the 8 identified as American citizens while 1 identified as undocumented. A doctoral student facilitated the counseling sessions while being supervised by two people. The group met twice a week for 30 minutes for 14 weeks. The students were all provided notebooks and encouraged to write/draw their testimonios. After the sessions were finished, the authors came to the conclusion that writing or drawing testimonios as well as sharing their own testimonies with others in the group was very healing and empowering for the students. The implication most meaningful for my current study is their finding that testimonios can be very helpful when working with Latinos who have experienced trauma or hardship. One big limitation of this study is that it is so small. Only 8 participants were included in the study and all were male and adolescents. We need to do more studies like this in order to determine if it is generalizable to Latino adults or Latina women. However, I do feel like this is a really good start and could be very helpful in determining a way to effectively counsel people who identify as Latinx.
Cooper, D. K., Bachem, R., Meentken, M. G., Aceves, L., & Perez Barrios, A. G. (2020). Cumulative lifetime adversity and depression among a national sample of U.S. Latinx immigrants: Within-group differences in risk and protective factors using data from the HCHS/SOL sociocultural ancillary study. Journal of Latinx Psychology, 8(3), 202–220.
The purpose of this study was to assess risks and protective factors between lifetime adversity and depression among US Latinx immigrants and to determine how these factors differentiated between Latinx subgroups. Most of the literature reviewed in the first part of this article covers previous research on mental health for the US Latinx population and other factors relating to this like social support, ethnic identity, acculturation stress and diversity. Most of this literature was written within the last ten years and very relevant to the current study. One important thing they discussed in this section was research regarding the COR theory, one they integrated into the current study. All the data from this study came from a previous study (HCHS/SOL) that was completed from 2009-2011 and had a few thousand participants, most above the age of 45 and had lived in the US for around 22 years prior to completing the study. They measured social support and other factors using a combination of well researched assessments. In this study they did not find that ethnic identity was associated with depression, but they believe that may be in part to the participants being in different stages of the acculturation process. They also found that social support was a significant moderator between cumulative lifetime adversity and depression. They did find many differences between the subgroups, for example, they found that discrimination was significantly linked to depression but only in Mexican Americans, not Puerto Rican, Cuban, or Dominican Americans. An implication that is meaningful for my current study is that social support plays an important role and thus having a good client-counselor relationship is also very important. Another implication is the fact that these factors differentiate so much between subgroups, meaning that I need to be careful not to generalize things to all people who may identify as Latinx. A critique I have of the current study is the fact that all the data was collected from a previous study. Even though the study was only ten years ago, it may not be as valid as if you collected the data today. I also wish they would’ve expanded on other subgroups of the Latinx population, particularly looking at those who immigrate from central or southern America.
Morgan Consoli, M. L., Consoli, A. J., Hufana, A., Sanchez, A., Unzueta, E., Flores, I., Vázquez, M. D., Sheltzer, J. M., & Casas, J. M. (2019). “I Feel Like We’re Going Backwards:” Post-Presidential Election Resilience in Latinx Community Members. Journal for Social Action in Counseling & Psychology, 10(2), 16-33.
The purpose of this study was to examine how Latinx people reacted to the 2016 presidential election of Donald Trump and what impact that election may have on their future. In this study they conducted smaller focus groups to interview participants about their emotions and reactions regarding the election. The literature discussed in the introduction section of this article was not super extensive, but it did examine some background of the 2016 US presidential election, as well as touching on research examining political adversities and resilience. Pretty much all of the articles referenced were very recent, many of which coming from within the last 4 years. The participants of this study were 19 Latinx community members, 15 female and 4 male, the majority of which identifying as Mexican or Mexican American. Participants were recruited through flyers, social media and community contacts. All participants completed a demographic questionnaire and then participated in a focus group. Four focus groups were conducted, and they number of participants in each ranged from 2 to 9. Each session lasted approximately an hour or an hour and a half. Overall the researchers organized the data they collected into three categories, perspectives on the election, impacts of the election, and ways of dealing with the results of the election. They found that most participants either had an aversion to president Trump or they felt negatively about the current socio-political environment, including feeling more hostility, prejudice and overt discrimination. The impacts they observed from the focus groups were mostly centered around negative emotions and systemic changes. Finally, the main ways of dealing with the results that the group discussed were personal methods, (spirituality, persistence, hope, etc.) and taking action (building community and social justice awareness and proceeding with carefulness in uncertain or dangerous situations). An implication of this study is that it is really helpful for me to know how the Latinx community feels about the current political situation in the US, why they think that way, and what they want to do about it going forward. One critique I have is that the results may not be representative of all Latinos because the participants were all collected because they expressed feelings about the election and had a desire to speak about them. It is possible that many people had no feelings or were impartial about the election.
Ortiz, V., & Telles, E. (2012). Racial Identity and Racial Treatment of Mexican Americans. Race and social problems, 4(1).
The purpose of this study is to examine how race impacts the lives of Mexican Americans, and how things like education, racial characteristics, and social interactions all contribute to racial outcomes. Most of the literature reviewed is fairly recent and relevant however there are a few studies that are more dated. Much of the literature review focuses on providing a background on how Mexican Americans have been described throughout history in terms of race and race labels, including how they are defined within the census. This study used for this article is a longitudinal study that originally interviewed participants in 1965-66 and then interviewed them again between 1998-2000. The final number of participants was 758 Mexican Americans and the age of each ranged between 30 and early 50’s. The researchers mainly focused on studying racial identity (choosing to be identified as Mexican or being perceived as a Mexican) and racial treatment (stereotyping and discrimination). Their main predictors for those two variables were racial characteristics (skin color), education and social interaction. Overall, they found that in terms of racial identity, both the darker the skin color and the less education one had, made it more likely for that person to identify racially as Mexican as well as more likely that they would be perceived as Mexican. They found that social interaction did not make a significant impact in their identity, but it did make an impact on how they were perceived, with participants with more white friends being less likely to be perceived as Mexican. More educated participants were more likely to have been stereotyped by others and darker skinned participants were more likely to experience discrimination. I found these results all very interesting and an implication for my study because in terms of counseling it is important to understand how Latinx people identify themselves and how other perceive them and how that impacts their well-being. One critique I have about the study is that it is a little bit dated, especially because the first study was conducted in 1965. I would really like to see something like this study repeated again now, with a shorter time in between interviews. I think this study is so interesting because it discusses how one’s identity is so important and how much it can vary from what they are perceived as. I think this study once again shows the importance of not judging your client or anyone because of what you assume and instead let them identify themselves to you.
Systemic Challenges
Moore, J. (2016). [Gabriella Ramirez speaks to her boyfriend, a construction worker who immigrated to California, through the U.S.-Mexico border fence on May 1, 2016, in Tijuana, Mexico.] [Photograph] The Intercept. https://theintercept.com/2017/01/26/a-hostile-act-mexico-braces-for-trumps-border-wall/
The Latinx community faces many systemic challenges, including healthcare, unemployment and low financial resources, language barriers, and discrimination. These challenges pose many barriers that keep them from reaching their potential. I chose to use this picture of the Border Wall to represent these challenges because it is a physical representation of the many barriers Latinos face. Some of the main challenges that Latinos face are due to immigration. Not only is it incredibly dangerous to immigrate to the US but when they arrive, they are not welcomed. As of April 2020, about 34% of Latinos living in the US are immigrants (Heard, 2020). Immigrants in the US, especially those who are undocumented, are “often ineligible for Medicaid and other health benefits” (Heard, 2020) and this lack of access to healthcare is a major challenge the Latinx community faces, especially during a pandemic. The Latinx community also faces a lot of economic barriers. An anonymous source I spoke to informed me that a lack of money and financial resources is one of the biggest challenges they face. Because Latinos are often underpaid and do not have access to high income jobs it is very hard to gain financial security (Anonymous, 2020). Of those who do have a job, only about 18% have the ability to work from home (Heard, 2020). This is part of the reason why the Latinx community has been hit harder during the COVID pandemic. This continues within the housing market, where “longstanding inequities in inter-generational wealth and other systemic barriers continue to impede Latinx Americans from reaching parity with the U.S. population as a whole” (Skinner, 2020). On top of this, language barriers can further complicate these situations. Finally, the Latinx community as a whole is discriminated against within the US. Although the majority of Latinos are US born, they are still often viewed as foreign and pressured to assimilate to “American” culture (Gamboa, 2020). Stereotypes of Latinos being dangerous drug dealers and “illegals” are rampant throughout the US and even encouraged by the President and his Border Wall. These stereotypes and other forms of discrimination are detrimental to the well-being of the Latinx community and we must work to stop them.
References
Gamboa, S. (2020, July 9). Racism, not a lack of assimilation, is the real problem facing Latinos in America. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/racism-not-lack-assimilation-real-problem-facing-latinos-america-n974021.
Heard, M. D. (2020, August 11). The Effects of COVID-19 on America’s Hispanic and Latinx Communities. https://healthlaw.org/the-effects-of-covid-19-on-americas-hispanic-and-latinx-communities/.
Skinner, R. (2020, October 17). Study highlights gains and barriers Latinx community faces in housing market. KOAA. https://www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/study-highlights-gains-and-barriers-latinx-community-faces-in-housing-market.
Strengths-Focused Needs
Hollingsworth, J. (n.d.). [Mexican Family] [Photograph]. Getty Images. https://mcclellandinstitute.arizona.edu/latinx-families
Based upon my research and interviews I have found that there are many strengths specific to the Latinx Community, however, I believe the most important of those to be their value of collectivism. The Latinx community values the success of their family over the success of the individual, much unlike the individualistic mindset of mainstream U.S. society (Magaña, 2010). One study even showed that 88% of Latinos over 50 labeled “spending time with family/friends” as their greatest interest (AARP, 2012). I chose this photograph of a large Latinx family because everyone in the photo looks so happy and I think it represents the collective Latinx importance of being with family. “The Latinx family is rooted in an intricate extended network of families and friends, based on a collectivistic belief system that in turn works as a network” (Magaña, 2010). This family network is a huge strength for the Latinx community. It not only provides strength and support, but it allows them to share resources they’ve found. These family networks “help Latinos access vital information concerning family-related, social, and economic issues” (Magaña, 2010). These networks also allow them to stay connected to their culture while living in the midst of other cultures which has also been shown to have various benefits, including “robust social development” (Coll, 2009). The greatest needs for the Latinx community revolve around providing support and resources that the family network cannot provide. Many needs, like access to better health care and job opportunities (AARP, 2012) are related to systemic issues and outside of the family’s control. One of my interviewees told me about how her main needs are centered around financial resources so she is currently working utilizing her family network create artwork to then sell to raise money. (Anonymous, 2020). As a counselor I can work on advocating for these needs by spreading awareness to my own community about fundraisers like this one, as well as helping to find and share information about resources and supports within the community that may be available to my Latinx clients so that they can then share the information with their family networks. By focusing on supporting their family needs as a whole, I can help the whole community thrive.
References
AARP. (2012). Priority Needs and Interests of the 50+ Hispanic/Latino Community. https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/research/surveys_statistics/general/2012/2012-hispanic-opinion-shapers-study.pdf.
Coll, C.G., Fuligni, A., Galindo, C., Hernandez, D., & Tienda, M. (2009). “The cultural strengths of Latino families: Firm scaffolds for children and youth.” New Journalism on Latino Children.http://www.ewa.org/site/DocServer/NJLC_CulturalStrengths_WEB.pdf?docID=641
Magaña, Sandy & Ybarra, Marci. (2010). Family and community as strengths in the Latino community. Social work practice with Latinos: Key issues and emerging themes. 69-84.
Servant Leadership
Raedle, J. (2020). [Farmworkers harvest zucchini on a farm, April 1, 2020, in Florida]. Getty Images. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2020/04/23/483488/protecting-farmworkers-coronavirus-securing-food-supply/
Based on the strength-based needs of the Latinx community, there are many opportunities for servant leadership, especially because there are so many demographics within the Latinx community. For example, the third person I interviewed is part of a club here at OSU and they make blankets, pack meals, and raise money to support the Puerto Rican community (Anonymous, 2020). Seemingly simple things like meals and blankets can have a huge impact on the people that receive them and therefor this is a great opportunity for a servant leadership activity. Related to the idea of donating food and supplies, I recently came across a post on social media about the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on Latinos, specifically the immigrant farm workers that provide food for the country. Immigrant Latino farm workers are underrepresented and underappreciated here in the U.S. This country could not function if they weren’t out providing our food every day. In advertisements and the media, you see white farmers depicted out in the fields, but you don’t see the real picture, with all the darker skinned Latinx immigrants that are the ones providing painstaking labor for barely any money just to put a meal on our tables. And during the pandemic things only got worse. They cannot work from home like other jobs and many do not qualify for unemployment or stimulus checks (FLOR, 2020). With winter on the horizon, these families are struggling to make ends meet. For some, their farming season has been cut short due to the raging wildfires. For others, family members have lost incomes or now face additional childcare costs due to COVID (FLOR, 2020). This post I saw was calling for people to donate food, blankets and sweaters so these Latinx families could eat and stay warm over the winter. This inspired me because my social justice project is obviously regarding the Latinx community and by helping to donate these supplies I could directly help support them. Therefore, my plan for servant leadership based on the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MCSJCC) would be to help organize a collection of these supplies from my community that I can then donate to this cause. These supplies would help to take some of the financial burden off of these farmworkers and allow them to focus on other aspects of their lives, like staying healthy amidst a pandemic.
Reference
FLOR [@flowerinspanish]. (2020, Nov). Farm workers have never failed us. Yet the system continues to fail them. We can’t fail them. With your donations so far we can help 200 families, our goal is 3,000 families. Links in bio. Donate. Volunteer. Be part of the difference. Be part of the resistance. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/CHeg7S0pKmA/?hl=en
Advocacy
[Photograph of a Protest in support of DACA]. [Photograph]. (n.d.) https://www.pfaw.org/blog-posts/the-lives-of-800000-daca-recipients-are-now-in-the-hands-of-the-supreme-court/
My plan for advocacy for the Latinx community is to spread education about political programs like DACA that are beneficial to the Latinx community as well as organizations like ICE that are very harmful. It is super important to spread awareness about these programs/organizations because they can have a huge impact on this community and many people that are not part of the Latinx community are uneducated or misinformed in regard to these programs. Even if they have a good understanding what the programs do, many are still impartial towards them it which could be detrimental to the well-being of Latinx community. DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, was enacted in 2012 and allows immigrant children who came to the US illegally to remain in the US without being deported (Lopez, 2020). Although DACA is available for any immigrant, over 90% of DACA recipients are from Latin American countries, with almost 80% from Mexico alone (Lopez, 2020). DACA has been incredibly helpful to the Latinx community, with one study finding that 91% of DACA recipients are currently employed with their average hourly wages are up about $7 from when they first received DACA, and almost half are currently in school and among those in school, over 70% are pursuing a bachelor’s degree or more (What is DACA, 2020). Not only does DACA benefit the individual recipient but because the Latinx community as a whole is so community focused DACA really helps improve the wellbeing of the entire community. As a counselor I want to make sure that all my clients have the best opportunities possible and DACA is a great opportunity for my future Latinx clients. It is important for me to be knowledgeable about the subject so I can not only help them apply for assistance programs like DACA but also so I can help combat misinformation that may be spread about DACA or Latinx immigrants who are moving to the US. Hand in hand with this idea, it is equally important to spread valid information about organizations like ICE and the detention centers for illegal aliens. These things are incredibly harmful to the Latinx community and a lot of it gets swept under the rug without the majority of the public knowing about it. A great example of this is the alleged mass hysterectomies that happened in an ICE detention center in Georgia (Campoamor, 2020). By spreading awareness about just how harmful some of these things are, hopefully others will be encouraged to speak up and then together we can have a louder calling to defund oppressive organizations like ICE. By kindly providing education to others whenever possible, hopefully I can actively advocate for the Latinx community as a counselor in both my personal and professional environments.
References
Campoamor, D. (2020, September 16). ‘Mass hysterectomies’ at ICE happened on Trump’s watch. But they’re America’s problem. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/mass-hysterectomies-ice-happened-trump-s-watch-they-re-america-ncna1240238.
López, G., & Krogstad, J. M. (2020, May 30). Key facts about ‘Dreamers’ enrolled in DACA. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/09/25/key-facts-about-unauthorized-immigrants-enrolled-in-daca/.
What is DACA and Who Are the DREAMers? (2020, June). https://www.adl.org/education/resources/tools-and-strategies/table-talk/what-is-daca-and-who-are-the-dreamers.