"Estuvimos en una hielera": Migration trauma and detainment among newcomer Latinx adolescents.

Abstract

Objective: Exposure to migration-related traumatic events may increase the risk for immediate distress upon arrival and complex trauma following resettlement. Record numbers of Latinx immigrant youth are being held in detainment facilities at the border and around the country. However, little research examines the psychological sequelae of trauma among detained youth. Through addressing these gaps, this article can inform policies and best practices that adhere to human rights and foster acculturative adjustment.

Method: This article describes community collaborative research with newcomer Latinx adolescents enrolled in public high schools. Study 1 (n = 127) used quantitative data to examine whether time in detention and trauma exposure were associated with psychosocial adjustment. Study 2 (n = 46) used qualitative data to explore the lived experiences of detainment and related trauma.

Results: Study 1 results found that over a third of participants had been detained for at least 4 weeks (36%) and nearly half the participants witnessed or experienced a traumatic event (46%). Although time in detainment was not related to internalizing or externalizing symptoms, exposure to trauma was associated with more internalizing and more externalizing symptoms. Study 2 results illustrated specific detainment-related stressors, including multiple relocations, inhumane conditions, legal concerns, and family separation, as well as complex psychological sequelae, both during detainment and after resettlement, as well as some satisfactory experiences.

Conclusions: Results contribute new understanding of the unique experiences of immigration detainment and its psychological sequelae and can inform legal, policy, and educational practices that directly impact recently resettled Latinx youth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).