Date Created

8-2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Department

College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, School Psychology, School Psychology Student Work

First Advisor

Hess, Robyn S.

Abstract

Every day, across the United States, there are families who rely on their children to perform the essential task of facilitating communication between themselves and others who do not share their language; this process is referred to as language brokering. Eleven participants who identified as Latinx child language brokers were interviewed. The purpose of this study was to explore the stories of these youth to better understand how they came to be language brokers in their families, their perspectives on their roles within their families and their culture, and the perceived positives and challenges of this practice. From these lived experiences described in the in-depth interviews, five themes emerged including: giving back to family, perceived judgment by others, learning my culture, school response, and self-efficiency. Participants provided context and recommendations for mental health providers within the school and clinic settings relating to interactions that would be supportive to adolescents who interpret for their families. Further implications and future research are also discussed.

Extent

148 pages

Rights Statement

Copyright is held by the author.

Digital Origin

Born digital

Download

Share

COinS