UCLA

This study used a qualitative approach to examine the emotional and mental health of young adults that are members of a mixed-status family. The study incorporated a phenomenological approach to capture the lived experiences of individuals living in a mixed-status family. A total of seven U.S-born young adult Latinas (Mage= 23.42) in a mixed-status family completed a 60-90-minute semi-structured interview. The data was analyzed using a hybrid approach of thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) and an inductive-deductive coding (Creswell, 2013). The narrative of growing up in a mixed-status family as a U.S-born young adult Latina was often less about themselves than about their undocumented family members. While their stories demonstrated striking resilience (i.e., sense of responsibility, being the “voice” and demonstrating empathy/compassion) it also came at an emotional toll (i.e., survivor guilt, anger, feeling stuck, expressions of sadness, and anxiety).