Societal Perceptions and Developmental Assets of Latina Youth From Low-Income Schools: Implications for Social Work Prevention Efforts

Abstract

Ensuring healthy development for youth is one of the Grand Challenges of the social work profession. This Grand Challenge seeks to reduce behavioral health problems in youth through prevention efforts. This paper presents a mixed-methods study of sixty Latina adolescents from low-income schools to better understand their perceptions of what it is like to be a girl in U.S. society and explore their strengths through their developmental assets. Understanding their assets rather than deficits would allow social workers as program developers, practitioners, and researchers as well as educators, to be able to focus on prevention. Overall, the study participants showed a strong foundation of assets reflecting personal development along with perceived support from family, school, and other social aspects of their lives. Some of the girls exhibited developmental vulnerability in terms of positive identity and constructive use of time. Additionally, findings from focus groups suggested four themes, including feeling external pressure from both other girls and boys to meet societal beauty ideals, gender-based norm disparities and double standards, desire for reliable support systems, and belief in self about achieving their goals. Based on the findings, implications for social workers engaging in positive youth development and preventative programming for Latina adolescents are provided through intersectionality and equity.