It's no surprise teenagers suffer when they experience discrimination in some way, but a new study reveals how they're also affected when their parents experience the same thing. It's new evidence to show the wide-ranging effects discrimination produces, and how it does not simply affect an individual but can impact a family or group.
Child Development published the results Wednesday. Researchers asked 344 Los Angeles high school students and their caregivers to complete two surveys over the course of a year. The students ranged from 14 to 16 years old and were second generation Mexicans or Mexican-Americans. Most came from low-income families.
When parents experienced discrimination, their children were more likely to internalize feelings, thus causing depression and anxiety. They also tended to exhibit lower self-esteem.
Teenagers whose parents took the time to educate their kids about their culture and any racial bias they might experience exhibited higher self-esteem, but things changed dramatically when those parents also faced discrimination. Teens who were simultaneously more informed about their culture and knew their parents actually experienced discrimination had lower self-esteem.
Nancy Gonzales, the study's co-author and a professor at Arizona State University, said in a press release, "Parents' efforts to instill a positive sense of cultural identity are very important, but can be undermined or even sensitize adolescents to feel more threatened when they are aware that their parents are experiencing discrimination."
Even though the study focused on Mexican-Americans, the results suggest they could be applied to other minority groups and show how discrimination has a much larger impact. "Incidents of discrimination have implications for the family as a whole, not just the individual who experienced them," said Guadalupe Espinoza, co-author and assistant professor at California State University, Fullerton.
More than being upset at how their parents were treated, teenagers were affected by such discrimination for some time. Espinoza said, "Such incidents continue to reverberate even a year later. Parents should be aware that the messages they convey about their own cultural group, but also about other cultural groups, will play a role in shaping their children's reactions to those experiences."
The current political climate has contributed to a growing discriminatory atmosphere, with Donald Trump leaning into it throughout his presidential campaign. He has often made disparaging comments about Mexicans and other minority populations. In fact, violence broke out at a Trump rally in New Mexico Tuesday, and Trump later called protestors "thugs" and claimed they were brandishing the Mexican flag. On Cinco de Mayo, he placated Hispanic voters by posing with a taco bowl. Whether maliciously or not, that kind of language and behavior creates a much larger problem than merely insulting one person. As this new study shows, discrimination reaches much farther and lasts much longer.
Espinoza did not immediately respond to Complex's request for comment.
