Understanding Latina/o Adolescents' Intersectional Experiences of Discrimination

This study examines whether Latina/o adolescents assess perceived discrimination as being due to distinct subgroups of intersecting social identities. In addition, we examined the relations between subgroups of perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms and externalizing behaviors. This study utilizes intersectional and person-centered approaches with a sample of 320 Latina/o adolescents (M-age = 15.6; 55% female) who were attending two midwestern high schools. An exploratory latent class analysis of attributions of perceived discrimination revealed a 3-class solution characterized as: Single Attribution (55%), Few Attributions (34%), and Many Intersectional Attributions (10%). The classes were differentiated by the number of social identities students attributed to their discriminatory experiences. Participants in the Single Attribution class attributed their perceived discrimination to an average of one social identity, and those in the Many Intersectional Attributions made attributions to seven social identities on average. Further, a greater number of social identities to which adolescents attributed perceived discrimination was associated with increased depressive symptoms and externalizing behaviors. Findings underscore the importance of accounting for adolescents' multiple social identities when investigating how discriminatory and oppressive systems influence Latina/o youth.