Filtering by
- All Subjects: Youth
- Creators: Saldana, Johnny
- Resource Type: Text
- Status: Published
This qualitative research study utilizes questionnaires, focus groups, and case study interviews, to engage adolescent perceptions of queer narratives. The youth, ranging in ages from 15 to 18 years old and living in the Phoenix, Arizona metro area, explore and examine LGBTQ+ themes, characters, plots in traditional and new media.
My dissertation examines youth interactions with queer narratives through three chapters. These address themes of: character, identity, and representation; plot and the search for accuracy; and the symbiotic exchange between narrative and community. Throughout the dissertation, young people analyze narratives, reflect on their own lives, and envision the future of youth queer narrative. The youth describe a move away from traditional media and towards new media platforms with user-created content, social network interaction, and the sharing of common experiences with peers. Finally, I examine the implications of both the research findings and the methodology on the future of youth-engaged qualitative research, as well as the performing arts.
The integrative model for developmental competencies in minority youth and the stress-buffering model posit that ethnic minority youth have unique experiences (e.g., stressors) that can inhibit their developmental pathways, but that supportive relationships can play a buffering role for individuals when in the presence of stressors. The current study examines the associations between parent-child conflict, sleep, and depressive symptoms among 207 Latinx youth (M = 12.39, SD = 1.15; 53% females) while exploring the moderating role of the opposite parent’s warmth. Results revealed positive links between mother-child conflict, sleep, and depressive symptoms and between father-child conflict and depressive symptoms. No evidence was found for the moderating role of parental warmth. This study’s findings contribute to the knowledge on Latinx youth by creating a starting point for potential intervention targets in familial processes.