Although only a portion of Latina/o adolescents in the United States are undocumented, the social perception of legal status may influence Latina/o youth living in immigrant communities more broadly. This perception has implications not only for how Latina/o youth understand themselves but also for how they construct their aspirations. Qualitative interviews and consensual qualitative research protocols were utilized to understand how perceptions of legal status might change images of possible selves for 14 Latina/o adolescents in an emerging immigrant community. Students described their hopes and worries for themselves as well as the prospects for a “typical” Latina/o peer and an undocumented Latina/o peer. Themes show more hopefulness for students’ own sense of self, a mixed opinion on the possibilities for a “typical” peer, and a hopeless view of the future for an undocumented youth. Implications for promoting hopeful possible selves within the constraints of the social context are offered.
AbregoL. J. (2006). “I can’t go to college because I don’t have papers”: Incorporation patterns of Latina/o undocumented youth. Latino Studies, 4, 212-231.
2.
AbregoL. J.GonzalesR. G. (2010). Blocked paths, uncertain futures: The postsecondary education and labor market prospects of undocumented Latino youth. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 15, 144-157. doi:10.1080/10824661003635168
3.
ChavezJ. M.LopezA.EnglebrechtC. M.AnguianoR. V. (2012). Sufren los niños: Exploring the impact of unauthorized immigration status on children’s well-being. Family Court Review, 50, 638-649. doi:10.1111/j.1744-1617.2012.01482.x
4.
Chi-Ying ChungR.BemakF.GrabowskyT. K. (2011). Multicultural-social justice leadership strategies: Counseling and advocacy with immigrants. Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology, 3, 86-102.
5.
ContrerasF. (2009). Sin papeles y rompiendo barreras: Latino students and the challenges of persisting in college. Harvard Educational Review, 79, 610-631.
6.
EnriquezL. E. (2011). “Because we feel the pressure and we also feel the support”: Examining the educational success of undocumented immigrant Latina/o students. Harvard Educational Review, 81, 476-500.
7.
FuligniA. J.PedersenS. (2002). Family obligation and the transition to young adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 38, 856-868. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.38.5.856
8.
GonzalesR. G. (2010). On the wrong side of the tracks: Understanding the effects of school structure and social capital in the educational pursuits of undocumented immigrant students. Peabody Journal of Education, 85, 469-485. doi:10.1080/0161956X.2010.518039
9.
GonzalesR. G. (2011). Learning to be illegal: Undocumented youth and shifting legal contexts in the transition to adulthood. American Sociological Review, 76, 602-619. doi:10.1177/0003122411411901
10.
GonzalesR. G.Suárez-OrozcoC.Dedios-SanguinetiM. C. (2013). No place to belong: Contextualizing concepts of mental health among undocumented immigrant youth in the United States. American Behavioral Scientist, 57, 1174-1199. doi:10.1177/0002764213487349
11.
GonzalezL. M.SteinG. L.ShannonhouseL. R.PrinsteinJ. (2012). Latina/o adolescents in an emerging immigrant community: A qualitative exploration of their future goals. Journal of Social Action in Counseling and Psychology, 4, 83-102.
12.
HalfondR.CoronaR.MoonA. (2013). Latino parent and adolescent perceptions of hoped-for and feared possible selves for adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 28, 209-240. doi:10.1177/0743558412457818
13.
HaysD. G.WoodC. (2011). Infusing qualitative traditions in counseling research designs. Journal of Counseling & Development, 89, 288-295.
14.
HillC. E. (Ed.). (2012). Consensual qualitative research: A practical resource for investigating social science phenomena. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
15.
HillC. E.KnoxS.ThompsonB. J.WilliamsE. N.HessS. A.LadanyN. (2005). Consensual qualitative research: An update. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52, 196-205. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.52.2.196
16.
HillC. E.ThompsonB. J.WilliamsE. N. (1997). A guide to conducting consensual qualitative research. The Counseling Psychologist, 25, 517-572. doi:10.1177/0011000097254001
17.
HillN. E.TorresK. (2010). Negotiating the American dream: The paradox of aspirations and achievement among Latino students and engagement between their families and schools. Journal of Social Issues, 66, 95-112. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.2009.01635.x
18.
KaoG. (2000). Group images and possible selves among adolescents: Linking stereotypes to expectations by race and ethnicity. Sociological Forum, 15, 407-430. doi:10.1023/a:1007572209544
19.
KaoG.TiendaM. (1998). Educational aspirations among minority youth. American Journal of Education, 106, 349-384.
20.
Mangual FigueroaA. (2012). “I have papers so I can go anywhere!” Everyday talk about citizenship in a mixed-status Mexican family. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 11, 291-311. doi:10.1080/15348458.2012.722894
21.
MarkusH.NuriusP. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41, 954-969. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.41.9.954
22.
MayS. F.FloresL. Y.JeanettaS.SaundersL.ValdiviaC.Arévalo AvalosM. R.MartínezD. (2015). Latina/o immigrant integration in the rural Midwest: Host community resident and immigrant perspectives. Journal of Latina/o Psychology, 3, 23-39. doi:10.1037/lat0000029
23.
McWhirterE. H.McWhirterB. T. (2008). Adolescent future expectations of work, education, family, and community: Development of a new measure. Youth & Society, 40, 182-202.
24.
McWhirterE. H.TorresD. M.SalgadoS.ValdezM. (2007). Perceived barriers and postsecondary plans in Mexican American and White adolescents. Journal of Career Assessment, 15, 119-138. doi:10.1177/1069072706294537
25.
MotelS.PatternE. (2011). Statistical portrait of the foreign-born population in the United States, 2011. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.
OysermanD.BybeeD.TerryK. (2006). Possible selves and academic outcomes: How and when possible selves impel action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 188-204. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.91.1.188
28.
OysermanD.FrybergS. (2006). The possible selves of diverse adolescents: Content and function across gender, race and national origin. In DunkelC.KerpelmanJ. (Eds.), Possible selves: Theory, research and applications (pp. 17-39). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science.
PasselJ. S.CohnD.KrogstadJ. M.Gonzalez-BarreraA. (2014). As growth stalls, unauthorized immigrant population becomes more settled. Retrieved from http://www.pewhispanic.org/2014/09/03/
31.
PérezP. A. (2010). College choice process of Latino undocumented students: Implications for recruitment and retention. Journal of College Admission, 206, 21-25.
32.
PérezW.EspinozaR.RamosK.CoronadoH. M.CortesR. (2009). Academic resilience among undocumented Latino students. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 31, 149-181. doi:10.1177/0739986309333020
33.
PotochnickS. R.PerreiraK. M. (2010). Depression and anxiety among first-generation immigrant Latino youth. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 198, 470-477. doi:10.1097/NMD.0b013e3181e4ce24
34.
PotochnickS. R.PerreiraK. M.FuligniA. (2012). Fitting in: The roles of social acceptance and discrimination in shaping the daily psychological well-being of Latino youth. Social Science Quarterly, 93, 173-190.
35.
Suárez-OrozcoC.Suárez-OrozcoM. M. (2001). Children of immigration. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
36.
Suárez-OrozcoC.YoshikawaH.TeranishiR. T.Suárez-OrozcoM. M. (2011). Growing up in the shadows: The developmental implications of unauthorized status. Harvard Educational Review, 81, 438-472.
37.
YakushkoO. (2009). Xenophobia: Understanding the roots and consequences of negative attitudes toward immigrants. The Counseling Psychologist, 37, 36-66.
38.
YowellC. M. (2000). Possible selves and future orientation: Exploring hopes and fears of Latino boys and girls. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 20, 245-280. doi:10.1177/0272431600020003001
