TY - JOUR
T1 - Lessons from the Field
T2 - Seeking Support and Sharing Wisdom Among Unaccompanied Guatemalan Migrant Youths in U.S. Agriculture
AU - Carlos Chavez, Fiorella L.
AU - Bariani, Antonella
AU - Carlo, Gustavo
AU - Zapata Shoemaker, Sylvia
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Background: There is evidence to suggest that undocumented, unaccompanied migrant youths confront emotional and physical hardships while working in the U.S. agriculture industry. However, little is known about the type of support available to these youths that could protect them from negative developmental outcomes. Objective: This qualitative research was designed to explore Guatemalan migrant youths’ available support types, expectations of coming to the U.S. for work, and the life lessons learned from being undocumented, unaccompanied minors in the agriculture industry. Methods: A total of 10 unaccompanied Guatemalan youths (age range 15–17 years, Mage = 16.4 years; 100% male; 100% undocumented) participated in individual semi-structured audio-voice-recorded interviews in the Southeast. Interview responses were transcribed, coded, and analyzed. Results: Thematic analysis yielded three primary interconnected themes: (1) “Coping and managing sadness by reaching out to others,” (2) “I have a dream but then, reality hits,” and (3) “Life lessons for future migrants.” Conclusion: Findings suggest that despite their vulnerable social position, Guatemalan migrant youth in U.S. agriculture displayed an optimistic attitude, exercised persistence, and developed resourcefulness. Besides these competencies, youth possessed social networks with left-behind families, developed and leveraged new social ties to “manage sadness,” and built a tight-knit community away from their countries of origin.
AB - Background: There is evidence to suggest that undocumented, unaccompanied migrant youths confront emotional and physical hardships while working in the U.S. agriculture industry. However, little is known about the type of support available to these youths that could protect them from negative developmental outcomes. Objective: This qualitative research was designed to explore Guatemalan migrant youths’ available support types, expectations of coming to the U.S. for work, and the life lessons learned from being undocumented, unaccompanied minors in the agriculture industry. Methods: A total of 10 unaccompanied Guatemalan youths (age range 15–17 years, Mage = 16.4 years; 100% male; 100% undocumented) participated in individual semi-structured audio-voice-recorded interviews in the Southeast. Interview responses were transcribed, coded, and analyzed. Results: Thematic analysis yielded three primary interconnected themes: (1) “Coping and managing sadness by reaching out to others,” (2) “I have a dream but then, reality hits,” and (3) “Life lessons for future migrants.” Conclusion: Findings suggest that despite their vulnerable social position, Guatemalan migrant youth in U.S. agriculture displayed an optimistic attitude, exercised persistence, and developed resourcefulness. Besides these competencies, youth possessed social networks with left-behind families, developed and leveraged new social ties to “manage sadness,” and built a tight-knit community away from their countries of origin.
KW - Emotional support
KW - Social ties
KW - Thematic analysis
KW - Unaccompanied Guatemalan minors
KW - Undocumented migrant farmworker youth
KW - Words of wisdom
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85189463115&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10566-024-09802-y
DO - 10.1007/s10566-024-09802-y
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85189463115
SN - 1053-1890
JO - Child and Youth Care Forum
JF - Child and Youth Care Forum
ER -