Rodriguez,+Morrobel,+&+Villarruel

Csikszentmihalyi and Schmidt (1998) stated that “healthy growth requires that the individual be fully functioning and involved with meaningful challenges.” Additionally, they believe that obstacles to fulfillment for youth include “physical restrictions, absence of responsibility, sex/intimacy issues, lack of adult role models real/perceived sense of powerlessness, and lack of control”. These factors should be at the heart of our work as youth development specialists regardless of our venue. But as we delve into the second decade of the 21st century, we must also be aware of the changing demographics of our country, and how these units have specific needs. While the Latino influence has been noted in popular culture over the past twenty years, educators and administrators have failed in addressing the growth and overall influence of this group in the classroom, athletic fields and community. The celebrated Latino revolution of the early nineties certainly has more significance than just Ricky Martin and salsa. For the first time in the history of the US, there are more youth of Latino origin than any other ethnic group. (US Census, 2000a) Furthermore, 35% of Latinos residing in the US are 18 or younger (numbers could be even greater due to undocumented individuals). While these numbers are significant, Latinos are largely under represented at every level of society, compounded by the lack of research of this group. What this dilemma creates is a lack of understanding for a complex, yet vibrant group of people that have a growing significance on our overall society. To combat this need, we will require a workforce of teachers, practitioners and policymakers to place greater attention on understanding the issues and factors that influence this group. The facts certainly back this strategy. Even with the slightly dated nature of these statistics, they can still be used as departure points for us to further analyze these issues. Keep in mind that such studies have traditionally failed to report data specific to these groups, thereby skewing any final examination. This is not the result of obtuse youth development corps, but a general lack of understanding of the Latino culture, and the various sub groups within. Most of the research has been exploratory in nature, thereby just scratching the surface of what is actually required to address Latino youth issues. The tendency to focus on the problems that characterize Latino youth is strong, thereby negatively influencing perceptions and actual starting points for educators/administrators. As an example, the authors conducted an analysis focusing on the frequency, tone and messages regarding positive youth development for Latinos. What was found that a majority of industry based articles regarding Latino youth were deficit orientated, addressing issues such as sexual activity/pregnancy (42% of the 66 articles), peer pressure/deviant peers (17%), drug use (17%), and alcohol use (13%). Bottom line, incomplete information can help further promote damaging stereotypes within the Latino community. Even worse, it has been shown that Latino youth have not been a priority for youth development researchers. So with that in mind, there is a significant need for a new approach, supplemented with accurate research that can shape positive youth development processes for the Latino adolescents. This paradigm shift must take place at systems level before we can expect general mindset change from educators, coaches and administrators. Programs focusing on promoting positive development and long term outcomes are required to jump start this transformation. For this to happen, we must first expand our knowledge of the Latino culture. Factors specific to Latinos include language, gender roles, religion, family and ethnic identity. In addition, while adolescents of all groups face a variety of developmental challenges, Latino youth need to deal with additional stressors such as discrimination, leading up to three times as much institutional stress. Latinos can trace their ancestry to a myriad of cultures, each their own specific sub group with their own differences. As an example, specific immigration patterns and whether it was voluntary or involuntary have a significant impact on a youth’s outlook of him/her and others. Additionally, language is a complex factor in the Latinos community as half of the 35 million Latinos in the US prefer to speak Spanish. Therefore, a majority of this group will run into an increased number of challenges in their daily life. Interestingly, gender roles within the Latino community have a contradictory message to boys (encouraged to be sexually active) and girls (expected to maintain virtue). This alone presents specific issues that must be addressed. Religion (a majority of Latinos are Roman Catholic) plays a large role in attitudes towards family, gender roles and community based responsibilities. Finally, the framework of family in the Latino household is more significant in comparison to traditional US homes. The implied expectations for Latino youth staying closer with one’s family differs than the traditional American adolescent’s separation and increased autonomy as they enter their teen years. These various points have increased value as we find that majority of our knowledge base on child development generally come from studies on white, middle class families. Roth and colleagues (1998) clarified a basic definition of youth development programs to “provide opportunities and support to help youth gain the competencies and knowledge they need to meet the increasing challenge they will face as they mature.” How we move forward as educators and administrators addressing this specific group will be vital not only for Latinos, but the youth development industry over the next twenty years.
 * Research Realities and a Vision of Success for Latino Youth Development** //Rodriguez, Morrobel and Villarruel//
 * In ten years (1990-2000), there was a 58% increase in the overall Latino population to 35.3 million, 12.5% of the overall population in the US. (US Census, 2000a).
 * Projections for youth of Latino decent in the US by 2010 is 20% of the youth population in the US.
 * Nationwide, the Latino dropout rate in school is over 30%, and for some communities 40% (Hashola and Slavin, 2001)
 * Estimated 40% of Latinos 25 and older have less than a high school diploma, whereas only 12% of white populations are in this group.
 * Latinos are over represented among those who are economically disadvantaged.

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 * Issues to consider when programming with Latino Youth in mind:**
 * GREAT QUOTE: (programs) should be challenging enough to spur action, yet not impossible to achieve as to demoralize individuals. (Bryson, 1998)
 * There must be accountability of our work. Researchers, policy makers, youth service providers patents and the youth themselves.
 * Factors specific to Latinos include: - language - gender roles - religion - family - ethnic identity - discrimination - the increase in the overall Latino population in the US - the Latino dropout rate in school nationwide
 * The importance of creating connections for youth within our communities and recruiting specifically to connect with Latino youth: - neighborhood grocery stores - restaurants - churches - community ethnic events - work places.
 * The need for proper translation (not necessarily direct translations) of documents is vital to get key messages across.
 * Proper resources in engaging programs:
 * Prioritize programs: []
 * Our work must be congruent with the world we live in – the Latino youth of the US are an exciting, talented group that can contribute greatly to our future as a country.
 * Some additional thoughts:**