Latinx Adolescents' Ethnic-Racial Discrimination and Expected Future Barriers Over Time

Expecting discrimination in one's future occupation is known to have negative implications for adolescents' career pathways. However, little is known about how such discriminatory expectations emerge. The current contentious sociopolitical climate toward immigrants, especially those of Latinx heritage, has contributed to heightened discrimination against adolescents in this group. The present study examined how experiences of discrimination over time relate to youths' expectations of future occupational barriers among 148 Latinx adolescents at 3 annual waves (82% U.S.-born; 53% female; M-age = 13.54 at Wave 1). Results suggest that Latinx youth report increasing exposure to ethnic-racial discrimination and objectification as a perceived foreigner over time. Moreover, as Latinx youth perceived more ethnic-racial discrimination and foreigner objectification over the course of adolescence they increasingly expected to face racial and ethnic barriers in their future occupations. Implications of these findings for an increasing Latinx youth and working-age population in the United States are discussed.