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- Title
The Diverse Worlds of Guatemalan Youth: Family, Faith, Ethnicity, Gender, and Challenges.
- Authors
GIBBONS, JUDITH L.
- Abstract
The lives of adolescents and youth in Guatemala are marked by diversity - economic, ethnic, gender, and place of residence, urban or rural. Although Guatemala has been described as collectivist, a more valid unfolding of cultural values shows that the cultural influences on Guatemalan adolescents and youth include familism, spirituality and religiosity, gratitude and reciprocity, and gender role ideologies that stem from the constructs of machismo and marianismo. The two major ethnic identities, Ladino and Indigenous Maya, are subject to ethnic stereotypes and disparities with Indigenous youth disadvantaged with respect to economic condition, educational opportunities, and health. Like other youth around the world, Guatemalans are increasingly exposed to technology and globalization, influences that may be altering their views and expectations for the future. The risks faced by Guatemalan youth include early pregnancy, migration, and violence, both gang-related and gender-based. Many interventions are aimed at improving the lives of adolescents and youth in Guatemala. Those programs should be consistent with community goals and should be thoroughly evaluated by multiple methods. Many of the same challenges and risks are faced by adolescents living in the diverse conditions of the Caribbean region, including ethnic, gender, and economic disparities, exposure to violence, and inappropriate or unevaluated interventions. Because the everyday lives of youth and adolescents reflect their cultural values and specific socioeconomic conditions, addressing those challenges requires careful attention to the culture and contexts of the life spaces of the youth.
- Publication
Caribbean Journal of Psychology, 2022, Vol 14, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
0799-2831
- Publication type
Academic Journal
- DOI
10.37234/CJP.2022.1401.A001