Abstract
There are approximately 35 million school-age children in Mexico. The current mental health needs of these youth far exceed the mental health support and resources available. Despite a general awareness of the demand for additional mental health resources, there is limited research regarding the culture-specific nature of the mental health needs of children and youth in Mexico. This chapter focuses on the psychological well-being of youth in rural and urban areas around Xalapa, Mexico. Using a transformative mixed-method design, the researchers’ aim was to provide culturally relevant information regarding the types, sources, and reactions to various stressors and supports for children and youth. Ecomaps (N = 88), stories (N = 88), and focus groups (N = 68) were used to collect information with students from a rural elementary, urban elementary, and urban middle school in Xalapa, Mexico. Qualitative findings suggested that students experienced stressors related to their immediate and extended families, peers, school, and community. Students also reported their families, friends, teachers, community members, and self as means of support. The quantitative results included descriptions of the types of stressors and supports, identification of sources, and considerations of gender and grade-level differences. Implications for future culturally relevant research and practice are discussed.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the families, students, and school personnel who participated in this study. Additional recognition is extended to Catalina Morillas Doddridge, Andrea Leonard-Morgan, Alison Marendt, and Jennifer Gonzalez for their various contributions to this project. Funding for this work was provided by the Georgia Association of School Psychologists, the College of Education Office of International Programs at Georgia State University, and the Office of International Initiatives at Georgia State University.
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Perkins, C., Wood, L., Varjas, K., Vanegas, G. (2016). Psychological Well-Being of Children and Youth in Mexico. In: Nastasi, B., Borja, A. (eds) International Handbook of Psychological Well-Being in Children and Adolescents. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2833-0_8
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