Susana is a 15-year-old Mexican-American girl student with an intricate mix of development and mental health difficulties, like depression, autism spectrum disorder, and ADHD. Compelling, culturally responsive social work interventions would draw from an understanding of this underserved population’s historical context and unique experiences. This literature review will examine the historical perspective of care and attendance of Mexican-American adolescent females with mental health issues, some of the assumptions and discriminatory practices, and, in a few cases, the resilience and strength that are being displayed within this ethnic community.
Mexican-American adolescent females have suffered from mental health conditions, for example, depression, and have been stigmatized and marginalized, facing many barriers to accessing mental health services. Shame and personal weakness are common themes associated with mental health problems in the Mexican American community. Hence, professionals dealing with these issues find that there is strong hesitance to come in and seek help (Manzo et al., 2022). To these have been added language barriers and others; typical Mexican-American suspicion of institutions and their operation adds essential barriers to the way of access to necessary support and treatment for Susana and other girls and young women.
The experiences of these people have further been modified through the gendered interaction with ethnicity and age into yet another very unique set of experiences with discrimination and oppression. Mexican American girls were overrepresented among those affected by sexual harassment, assault, and intimate partner violence. These may, in turn, contribute to an enhanced concern with mental health, such as depression (Manzo et al., 2022). These are traumatic experiences, being at the base of many gender-related discriminatory practices and mostly marginalized or downplayed by the same institutions.
Mexican-American adolescent women have been in a historical predicament case to care for when they suffer from mental health problems, founded in the webs of assumptions, beliefs, and discriminatory practices that societally exist. Some of these attitudes are the belief that mental health conditions indicate weakness in the person and are not a serious physical or health condition that warrants taking the person to a professional (Torres et al., 2022). This belief has led to the minimization of Susana’s mental health struggles and a reluctance to seek outside support.
Such an interaction of gender with both ethnicity and age has, in many ways, steered toward the perpetuation of damaging stereotypes and biases. Such as Susana, Mexican-American adolescent girls are often taken for the fact that they are submissive, passive, or even intellectually low, all of which go a mile further in deterring their treatment against mental health-related issues and denial of relevant accommodation and resources to this regard (Torres et al., 2022). These discriminatory practices have been evident across various institutions, including healthcare and education.
On the other hand, the Mexican-American female adolescents who had mental health and developmental conditions were able to showcase a lot of resilience and strength in their lives. Its members have rich cultural roots emphasizing values such as families (strong linkage to the family) and personalismo (the value put on personal relationships). The latter becomes a protective factor and support resource for people such as Susana (Hall et al., 2021).
Moreover, the Mexican American community nurtures a heritage of advocacy within community-based efforts to overcome the barriers set in systems of inequity they come across. Grassroots organizations have mainly centralized on empowering Mexican-American youth and families by encouraging them to seek services, educate themselves, and refer others through its stigma challenges to acquire culturally responsive resources (Hall et al., 2021).
Thus, as proven through past counselling and medication management, Susana’s resilience and strength underscore the latent possibilities of growth and healing within this disregarded population. Thus, the support of social workers could be developed in such a way that it recognizes and builds upon the cultural values, support systems, and individual strengths of the Mexican-American adolescent female, contributing to more effective and empowering interventions for the populace in addressing Susana’s needs.
Take, for example, Susana, a 15-year-old student who has been severely beleaguered by depression, autism spectrum disorder, and ADHD. This highlights precisely the historical and social context within which these often unique and underserved populations find themselves. Mexican-American adolescent females with mental health and developmental conditions have long since been suffering from stigma, marginalized, and discriminatory practices across various institutions.
This knowledge and understanding of historical context with underlying assumptions and beliefs drive the practice of discriminating, serving, and working together with the resilience and strength inside the Mexican-American community. Such knowledge helps social workers make culturally responsive and ethical interventions to assist people like Susana. This literature review, in the end, makes an excellent point regarding the need for further research, advocacy, and collaborative efforts meant to rid society of systemic barriers and improve the lived experience of Mexican-American adolescent females with mental health and development challenges.
Hall, M., Fullerton, L., Green, D., & FitzGerald, C. A. (2021). Positive relationships with adults and resilience to suicide attempt among New Mexico Hispanic adolescents. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(19), 10430.https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910430
Manzo, G., Piña‐Watson, B., Gonzalez, I. M., Garcia, A., & Meza, J. I. (2022). Disentangling acculturation and enculturation intergenerational gaps: Examining mother–youth value discrepancies and mental health among Mexican‐descent college students. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 78(2), 298-320.https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23229
Torres, S. A., Sosa, S. S., Flores Toussaint, R. J., Jolie, S., & Bustos, Y. (2022). Systems of oppression: The impact of discrimination on Latinx immigrant adolescents’ well‐being and development. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 32(2), 501-517.https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12751