RECONCEPTUALIZING RESILIENCE: TRAJECTORIES OF GROWTH AND FAMILY SUPPORT FOR CENTRAL AMERICAN IMMIGRANT YOUTH

Abstract

Latino immigrant youth are the fastest-growing segment of the Latino population in the United States. Despite facing profound traumatic experiences related to migration, including family separation, socio-economic instability, and legal precarity, many demonstrate remarkable mechanisms of growth, and resilience. This study explores the ways in which Latino immigrant youth from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala navigate these adversities and the strategies they employ to thrive in the U.S. context. Using a grounded theory approach, this study draws on 34 in-depth semi-structured interviews with Latino immigrant youth (ages 15–26), conducted between 2019 and 2024. Framed within life course theory, the analysis theorizes how resilience unfolds as a dynamic process shaped by migration-related disruptions and contextual enablers. Findings reveal two distinct post-migration trajectories: a thriving trajectory, characterized by determination, agency, and giving back behaviors, and a navigating trajectory, in which youth continuously struggle against structural and interpersonal barriers but persist in their efforts to move forward. Across both trajectories, participants identified key enablers to thriving at the individual, relational, and community levels, highlighting the role of both family and non-family sources of support. Additionally, this study critically examines familismo, a widely regarded protective factor among Latino communities. While familismo is often idealized as a source of cohesion and emotional support, findings reveal a significant familismo gap, wherein migration-induced separations and reunifications often disrupt family bonds, leaving some relationships fractured beyond repair. The concept of linked lives, central to life course theory, further underscores how the experiences of immigrant youth are deeply intertwined with those of their family members, yet these connections do not always translate into sustained support post-migration. Ultimately, this study argues that resilience among Central American immigrant youth should be understood as an ongoing process rather than a static outcome. A more nuanced, individualized conceptualization of resilience is necessary to accurately capture the ways in which these youth navigate adversity. The findings have significant implications for policy, program development, and intervention efforts aimed at safeguarding immigrant youth from the harmful effects of restrictive immigration policies. A youth-centered strengths-based approach that acknowledges their lived experiences and support needs is essential in fostering pathways to stability and psychological well-being.