By Jorge Luis Aguilar Cruz
When it came down to choosing a Positive Deviance Inquiry Topic, my head was filled with all sorts of ideas, but then I decided to go with the youth of my community, for the purpose of this PD inquiry I will specifically focus on the youth who are immigrants and or are Mexican American, and who live in the Segundo Barrio to Ascarate Park section of Central El Paso, TX. I grew up in this area, and it is concentrated by amazing hardworking and humble people, I am very proud to be from this part of El Paso, but often, when other people think about our community they feel sorry for us, and think it is very dangerous and sad. Yet, against all odds including lack of education, and income, steps are taken every day by the youth, and elderly alike to be Positive Deviants, to be something else other than what it is expected from them.
From previous engagement as an intern in Jefferson High School and having lived within the community for years, what is expected from us is crime, drug activity, and teen pregnancy, poor decision making from a lack of resources or parental figures. The youth I have spoken to say that this has been mention by their teachers, mentors, school officials, police officers, etc. Once again, against all odds, we can find positive deviants in our community, but more importantly contributing citizens to our community and society. I have been very fortunate to have access to the youth and more importantly their message, as Jay Pomales and Vernon Williams write in Effects of Level of Acculturation and Counseling Style on Hispanic Students’ Perceptions of Counselor, “subjects with a strong commitment to only Mexican-American culture expressed the greatest preference for a Mexican-American counselor, whereas subjects with a strong commitment to Anglo-American culture expressed the least preference for an ethnically similar counselor.” Thus, as I am one of their own in many ways, it allows for access and trust to receive their messages and information.
Latino Fathers: The Relationship Among Machismo, Acculturation, Ethnic Identity, and Paternal Involvement, authors Jon Glass and Jesse Owen state that “engagement, accessibility, and responsibility, are important familial obligations,” that can lead to the proper development of a young person. Research has shown that “maternal and paternal involvement can have a direct influence on a child’s well-being, such as improved academic performance, enhanced self-esteem, and diminished depressive symptoms.” In essence, authors state that having both parents, as well as other factors, can have a positive effect on the psychological and physical well-being on the youth. As the literature has shown, the youth in my community are more comfortable speaking to one of their own, thus for this Positive Deviance Inquiry, it will grant me access to the specific demographic in my community. Furthermore, the literature shows that with important familial roles being filled can lead to the development of the youth, but for this project I will find those who are going against “the strength of the river,” as one young lady said to me once. Seth Schwartz, writes “research suggests that among first- and second-generation immigrant emerging adults’ dimensions such as language use, ethnic identification etc. may be linked with many health risk behaviors, including drug and alcohol use, unsafe sexual behavior.” Furthermore, research indicates that highly acculturated individuals from immigrant families are more likely to take risks compared with their less acculturated counterparts.
In closing, for this Positive Deviance Inquiry, I will seek to find youth to participate in the project that have only one parent at home, are from a “poor” socioeconomic background, and who are immigrants and or first and second generation Mexican Americans who are between the ages of 17 and 22.
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