Identity and Belonging: Documentation Status and Mexican-origin children: A Systematic Review

There is a growing body of literature on the ways in which legal status affects the lives of undocumented Mexican immigrants, yet very little is known about how their status impacts the well-being of their children. This systematic review was conducted to answer the research question, “According to the literature, how do the children of undocumented Mexican immigrants describe the impact of parental documentation status on their identity and sense of belonging?” Studies utilizing qualitative methods were emphasized to gain insight directly from the voices of the children themselves. Results from the review included perspectives from the 1.5 generation, second-generation and migrant youth from 18 articles representing 13 unique population groups. Youth participants demonstrated that while the status of their parents’ being undocumented did have negative effects on their self-perception, familial identity and ability to experience full belonging as bicultural youths, they also shared stories of amazing strength and resilience in the face of the multiple layers of oppression their community faces. Important themes discussed by the youth included the impact of fear; importance of family; citizenship; experiences with discrimination; education, political activism and resistance to illegality

Identity and Belonging: Documentation Status and Mexican-origin children: A Systematic Review

There is a growing body of literature on the ways in which legal status affects the lives of undocumented Mexican immigrants, yet very little is known about how their status impacts the well-being of their children. This systematic review was conducted to answer the research question, “According to the literature, how do the children of undocumented Mexican immigrants describe the impact of parental documentation status on their identity and sense of belonging?” Studies utilizing qualitative methods were emphasized to gain insight directly from the voices of the children themselves. Results from the review included perspectives from the 1.5 generation, second-generation and migrant youth from 18 articles representing 13 unique population groups. Youth participants demonstrated that while the status of their parents’ being undocumented did have negative effects on their self-perception, familial identity and ability to experience full belonging as bicultural youths, they also shared stories of amazing strength and resilience in the face of the multiple layers of oppression their community faces. Important themes discussed by the youth included the impact of fear; importance of family; citizenship; experiences with discrimination; education, political activism and resistance to illegality

130— Reducing Stereotypic Behavior with a Ketogenic Diet

Now a popular fad diet, the ketogenic diet (KD) is a high-fat, low-carb diet that for decades has been used for treatment of intractable epilepsy. Recent therapeutic applications of KD in animal models include treatment of dementia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and autism. These disorders are associated with stereotypic behaviors (repetitive, invariant behaviors with no apparent function) that are life-impairing and stigmatizing. However, little is known about their underlying mechanisms and no effective pharmacological treatments are available. Here, we present a novel application of KD to reduce stereotypic behavior in an inbred strain of mice (FVBN/J) that displays a prominent repetitive circling behavior. In Experiment 1, we reduced overall stereotypic behavior in aged (18 months) mice with 3-week administration of KD. In Experiment 2, adult (6-8 months) females were paired such that a “spinner” mouse and a non-spinning control mouse were housed together (N=14 cages). Using an ABAB design, we compared stereotypic behavior between assessment periods on normal food diet and on KD. These data show an interaction between time and diet on stereotypic behavior. Following Golgi-Cox histochemistry, the density of dendritic spines in the dorsal and ventral striatum were investigated as one potential neurobiological mechanism for these effects