Suarez-Orozco+&+Todorova

The Social Worlds of Immigrant Youth Suarez, Orozco 2003

The authors use a young man by the name of Dario to illustrate the immigrant youth issues. Dario is a child from Central America and his is a tale of migration, separation, loss, reunification, resilience and poverty. Dario like other immigrant youth is a study in contrast; bravado in the streets and shyness in the classroom. His lack of language proficiency inhibits academic success. However, his respectful behavior gains support from adults and peers that keeps him enrolled in school. He is a cultural chameleon, borrowing identities and behaviors from multiple cultures. Dario is at risk due to many factors but exhibits resilience based in attitude and support systems. Immigrant youth are diverse; ethnically, socioeconomically, by legal status and religion. However the majority shares the following characteristics:


 * Poverty
 * Lost connections and family transitions
 * Networks of Relationships

__ Poverty __ encourages the following risk factors for immigrant youth: -Lack of sleep and concentration -Neighborhood violence -Anxiety and depression -Gang and drug activity -Single parents -Failing schools -Delinquency and violence -Lack of exposure to proper English

__ Lost connections and family transitions __ occur through the migration process. -Migration of one family member at a time results in severed emotional ties. Then when it comes time for the child to join the parent he suffers loss of the support network that provided care in absence of the parent. -Reunification is joyous but also stressful in part due to the re-establishment of ties and forging of new relationships with stepparents and new siblings. -Tensions occur between parent and children due to the child having to engage as the family translator and also from the child adopting the new culture -Hard work and increased pressure on parents results in them being emotionally and physically unavailable to their children

__ Networks of relationships __ are important due to the following: -Since the youth are going through so many of the transitions previously mentioned it becomes even more important to have community, educational and religious leaders as well as peers in a network of support. -These exterior relationships provide assistance in areas that parents would have navigated independently prior to migration; running an errand, making a loan, employment and housing opportunities and navigating cultural norms -They support identity formation.

It is important to understand the challenges and needs of immigrant youth as they currently comprise 20% of children in the US. The findings of the LISA study further documents the diverse story of immigrant youth.

Act for Youth Has developed guidelines for program creation that focuses on immigrant youth. They have identified the following assets of immigrant youth: strong cultural norms and values, bi-lingual skills, empowerment through family language dependency, and resiliency. They offer guidelines on how programs can encourage positive youth development within youth themselves, in the home and in school. [|www.**actforyouth**.net/resources/pm/pm_creatingsuccess_1204.pdf]