The diverse challenges of immigrant and refugee youth in the

United States: The intersectionality of development and

immigration

Robin A. Fletcher, Brook H. Gonzalez and NgocHà T. Pham

Eastern Mennonite University
COUN 517 - Human Growth & Development
Dr. Gregory Czyszczon
December 10, 2020
Figure 1. Acculturation (Teaching Tolerance, 2017).
Where we’re going…
1. Challenges Immigrant & Refugee youth face in the United
States
2. How these challenges impact youth ages 10-12
Varieties of experience and factors of risk
and resilience

Pre-migration experience

During-migration experience

Post-migration experience
 Pre-migration Experience
Immigration Status, Refugee vs Immigrant

1. Refugee: Those who abruptly left their homelands due to

persecution or danger to their lives, may lack resources.

2. Authorized Immigrant: Those who arrive to the US by choice,

with adequate time for preparation, may have financial means
and connections in the host country.

(Phan et al., 2005)

Pre-migration Experience
Possible Experiences of Refugees:
1. War
2. Environmental Factors: climate change, natural and technological
disasters, exposure to hazardous substances: water, air, food.
3. Persecution
4. Torture, killings, incarceration, starvation, rape, sexual abuse, physical
violence
5. Poverty- unable to access basic needs such as food and clothing, may
be malnourished
6. Education may not have been available

(Bemak & Chung, 2014; Ellis, 2020)

Pre-migration Experience
Immigration status: Chosen immigration
These children may have come with adequate preparation,
available economic resources and privileges.

Examples
1. Financial stability
2. Healthcare access
3. Legal assistance
4. Housing, clothing and food

(Ellis, 2020)
 Pre-migration Vignettes

#1 Charlie- Immigrant from Canada.

#2 Maria- Unauthorized Immigrant/Refugee from Guatemala

fleeing gang violence.

#3 Hà- Refugee from Saigon, Vietnam.

 During-Migration Experiences

Travel

1. Mode of travel
2. Length of travel
3. Conditions of travel
4. Accompanied or unaccompanied

(Bemak & Chung, 2014)

 During Migration Experiences

Other Factors
1. Potential extortion and violence from migration guides (Bemak & Chung, 2014).
2. Asylum seekers often are required to stay in refugee camps and/or
detention centers before being granted entry or after entry (Ellis et al., 2020).
3. During migration the child may be exposed to danger (Bemak & Chung, 2014).
4. Refugee camps conditions may affect the child (Bemak & Chung, 2014).
During-migration Vignettes
#1 Charlie- Immigrant from Canada.

#2 Maria- Refugee from Guatemala fleeing gang

violence.

#3 Hà- Refugee from Saigon, Vietnam.

Youtube video during-migration example

During-migration Experience of 10-year old refugee girl from

Syria

(UNICEF USA, 2016)

Post-migration Experiences

Once arriving to the new country, a variety of factors impact

the experience of the child and affect risk and resilience. At
this point the child and their family begins the acculturation
process.
Post-migration Experiences
Acculturation Factors
1. Mindset
2. Language Fluency
3. Cultural Similarity or Difference
4. Intergenerational Acculturation Gaps
5. Refugee Resettlement Locations
6. Parental post-immigration experiences
7. Microaggression
Post-migration Experiences

Acculturation Factor #1
Mindset: Acculturation Adaptation Styles
1. Ethnic Flight
2. Adversarial
3. Transcultural

(Bacallao, 2009)
 Post-migration Experiences

Acculturation Factor #2
Language Fluency
1. Parental Fluency (Bemak & Chung, 2014).
2. Youth Fluency (Bacallao, 2009; Romero & Roberts, 2003).

Figure 2. Speak English (Bird Office, 2015)

 Post-migration Experiences

Acculturation Factor #3
Cultural Similarity or Difference
1. Those who immigrate from a Western culture will
have an easier acculturation process.

2. Many Immigrant & Refugee groups that migrate

to the USA may come from collectivistic cultures
that are dramatically different
from Western Individualistic cultural viewpoints.

(Mediano, 2010; Romero & Roberts, 2003)

 Post-migration Experiences
Acculturation Factor #4
Intergenerational Acculturation Gaps
1. Parents may be at a different point in their personal acculturation
process than the child or have a different acculturation theory.
(Bacallao, 2009; Romero & Roberts, 2003)

Figure 3. Acculturation Gaps (

The Hidden Stress of Growing Up a Child of Immigrants, n.d.)
Post-migration Experiences

Acculturation Factor #5
Refugee Resettlement Locations
1. Refugees do not choose their resettlement locations. These
locations are often low-resource communities which commonly
have higher rates of crime and violence

(Ellis et al., 2020, p.14).

 Post-migration Experiences

Acculturation Factor #6
Parental Post-immigration Experiences have an
impact on the child
1. Common Mental Illness in immigrant parents
-Depression and Anxiety (Ellis et al., 2020).
2. Grief/Loss/Loneliness (Bacallao, 2009; Esquivel & Keitel, 1990).
3. Unfamiliarity (Bacallao, 2009).
4. Socioeconomic Status (Bacallao, 2009).
Post-migration Experiences

Acculturation Factor #7
Microaggressions
- Perpetual Foreigners

(Bemak & Chung, 2014)

 Post-migration Stressors for Immigrant and
Refugee Children
1. Racial Discrimination
2. Access to Health Care
3. Grief
4. Anxiety
5. Deportation
6. Detention Centers
7. Unaccompanied Children Status
 Stressor #1
Racial Discrimination

Emotional Health Concerns Linked to Racial Discrimination

a. Anxiety (Esquivel & Keitel, 1990).
b. Loneliness and isolation (Esquivel & Keitel, 1990).
c. Depression (Kopala,1994; Perreira & Ornelas, 2011).
d. Low Self-Esteem (Bacallao, 2009).
e. Reduced Academic Motivation (Bacallao, 2009).
f. Risky Health Behaviors (Substance Abuse, Early Sexual Activities) (Perreira & Ornelas, 2011).
g. Aggressive Behavior (Bacallao, 2009).
Stressor #1
Racial Discrimination (Continued)

Physical Health Concerns Linked to Racial Discrimination

a. Elevated blood pressure (Perreira & Ornelas, 2011).
b. Elevated levels of glucocorticoid hormones in the
bloodstream (Perreira & Ornelas, 2011).
c. Insulin Resistance (Perreira & Ornelas, 2011).
d. Headaches, Chest pain, Nausea, Fatigue, Abdominal Pain
(Hilt & Nussbaum, 2016).
 Stressor #2
Access to Health Care

a. Immigrant parents are less likely to have health insurance and

regular access to health care services (Perreira & Omelas, 2011).
b. 40-quarter rule (The Commonwealth Institute, n.d.).
c. There may be cultural stigmas associated with therapy (Vice Media Group,
n.d.).
Stressor #3
Grief

a. Grief over loss of close relationships in home culture.

b. Loss of friends
c. Severance of extended families

(Esquivel & Keitel, 1990)

Stressor #4
Anxiety
a. Anxiety about separation from caregivers. If an individual is
undocumented or their documents have lapsed, they are at risk
of deportaion.
b. Anticipatory anxiety.

(Ellis et al., 2020, p. 9; Kopala, 1994)

Stressor #5
Deportation

a. Witnessing a forced removal

b. Sudden unexplained absence of a parent
c. Resultant instability of housing and basic needs

(Ellis et al., 2020)

 Stressor #6
Detention Centers
a. Detention can negatively affect the parent’s mental health which
impared their ability to be caregivers to their children during and after
being detained (Wood, 2018, as cited in Ellis, 2020).
b. Children held in detention can experience significant long lasting
developmental delays (Wood, 2018, as cited in Ellis, 2020).
c. Children who are detained experience higher levels of mental health
concerns than non-detained peers (Mares & Jureidini, 2004, as cited in Ellis, 2020).
Stressor #7
Unaccompanied Children Status

a. Having taken on adult roles have a harder time with acculturation

to their roles as a child in the US society
b. Children seperated from parents are prone to experience anxiety
and depression
c. UAC are more likely to have had exposure to traumatic events and
are more likely to have developmental health problems.

(Ellis et al., 2020)

 Post-migration Vignettes

#1 Charlie- Immigrant from Canada.

#2 Maria- Immigrant from Guatemala fleeing gang violence.

#3 Hà- Immigrant from Saigon, Vietnam.

Youtube video post-migration example
Post-migration experience

(Storybooth, 2019)
Youth Ages 10-12

Figure 4. Group Portrait of Children (9-12) Embracing Outdoors - stock photo

Youtube video - Being 12
What a 12 year old might look like

(WNYC, 2015)
 Developmental Milestones in 10-12 year olds and how
they intersect with risk and resilience factors:
Capacity
Socio-emotional
1. May experience fear, worries, tears, anger
2. Can be moody, exaggerating and dramatizing
Cognitive
3. Now able to connect logic and broader ideas spanning across context. Can understand
abstract thought and complex issues.
4. Large growth in language skills, can add up to 5,000 new words to vocabulary.
Physical
5. Continuing to develop motor skills. Increasingly aware of own body -- Increased
possibility of acting on sexual desires
6. Experience a growth spurt with significant weight gain, muscle growth, and genital
maturation (Growth spurt begins earlier for girls; lasts longer for boys, who end up
taller).
(Advocates for Youth, 2016; New York State, 2015)
Anxiety in 10-12 year olds

Anxiety disorders can significantly impair children’s social

skills, academic success, and emotional well-being. If left
untreated, there is an increased risk of addiction,
depression, and suicide.

( Esquivel & Keitel,1990; Thompson et.al., 2013)

Depression in 10-12 year olds
Frequent sadness (tearful), Hopelessness, decreased interest
in activities, persistent boredom, low energy, social isolation,
poor communication, low self-esteem, guilt, increased irritability,
frequent complaints of physical illness (tummy aches and
headaches), Poor concentration, major change in eating or
sleeping patterns, efforts or talk of running away from home,
thoughts or efforts of suicide or self-destructive behavior

(The Whole Child, 2018)

Cognitive resilience in 10-12 year old
immigrant & refugee children

Language acquisition & Educational Outcomes

“Children who immigrate at younger ages have greater
language acquisition and educational outcomes than
children who immigrate at older ages, especially after
puberty” (Perreira & Ornelas, 2001, p.200).
Physical resilience in 10-12 year old
immigrant & refugee children
Positive Health Behaviors
Foreign-born immigrant children engage in a variety of more
positive health behaviors than their US born peers
1. Smoke and drink less
2. Eat more nutritional foods and fewer snack foods

(Perreira & Ornelas, 2001)

Developmental Milestones in 10-12 year olds and how
they intersect with risk and resilience factors
Relationship to Caregivers
Socio-emotional
1. Resents being told what to do and rebels at routines
2. Strive for unreasonable independence (struggle with family relationships and desire privacy
and separation from family)
3. Moody drama especially evident in family relationships
Cognitive
4. Move toward independence as they progress to middle/junior high school
5. Uses logic and challenges adult knowledge
6. Develop increasing capability for social conscience and for abstract thought,including
understanding complex issues such as poverty and war; Becoming interested in the outside
world and community

(Advocates for Youth, 2016; New York State, 2015)

Socio-emotional resilience in 10-12 year old
immigrant & refugee children
Two Parent and Multi-generational households
1. High levels of family support mitigates stress
2. Strong link between immigrants’ family environments and health -
strong familism-the strong family ties, trust, loyalty, and spirit of
mutual support cultivated by many immigrant parents --family
responsibilities such as language brokering for adult parents can
positively influence youth’s emotional wellbeing.

(Perreira & Ornelas, 2001)

Developmental Milestones in 10-12 year olds and how
they intersect with risk and resilience
factors
Relationship to Peers
Socio-emotional
1. Strong urge to conform to peer group morals, care greatly about relationships,
friendships, give peers more important than family
2. Much interest in teams,clubs,organized sports
Cognitive
3. Continue developing skills in making decisions as become more independent;
Increasing their own ability to learn and apply skills, deal with peers, and engage in
competition
4. Begin to look to peers and media for information and advice (friends greatly influence
them.)

(Advocates for Youth, 2016; New York State, 2015)

Grief in 10-12 year olds
Children ages 10-12 can experience all of the previous symptoms, but also the
following:
1. They are aware that death/separation is final, and they are more aware of
how adults and others around them are reacting to the loss.
2. Especially anxious about the safety of family and friends.
3. Try very hard to please adults and not worry them, and not let themselves
grieve.
4. Stronger emotional reactions (anger, guilt, sense of rejection)
5. Want to take on more adult responsibilities
6. Highly focused on what happened and asking questions.

(Lissenko, 2011)
 Developmental Milestones in 10-12 year olds and how
they intersect with risk and resilience factors
Perception of Self
Socio-emotional
1. Have ambivalent, conflicting feelings about puberty and about sexual desire.
2. Become self-conscious and self-centered, Experience feelings of insecurity and begin to doubt
self-concept and previous self-confidence. Often experience a significant drop in self-esteem.
Cognitive
3. Developing personal values and beliefs that will guide present and future behaviors. Continues
to develop a sense of individual identity through perspective taking (Walking in someone else’s
shoes)
4. Begin to consider future careers and occupations. Shift their school focus from play-centered
activities to academics
5. Continue developing skills in making decisions as become more independent; Increasing their
own ability to learn and apply skills, deal with peers, and engage in competition
Physical
6. Adjusting to the development of secondary sex characteristics

(Advocates for Youth, 2016; New York State, 2015)

Conclusion
1. Immigrant youth have unique stories and social
support systems
2. They have unique pre-immigration, during
migration, and post-migration experiences
3. Can impact the development of a 10-12 year old
Implications and Interventions for Mental
Health Counselors

See handout for implications and helpful interventions for working

with this population
Questions?
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