Language brokering and immigrant-origin youth's well-being: A meta-analytic review

Abstract

Youth from immigrant families often translate or interpret materials for their parents who lack proficiency in the dominant language of the mainstream society. However, evidence remains mixed regarding whether such a language brokering role is promotive or disruptive for youth's well-being. This meta-analysis synthesized 65 studies (1,242 effect sizes, 17,791 individuals; grand M_age = 16.68, SD_age = 4.78) to examine whether, how, and when brokering frequency and feelings were related to well-being. Language brokering frequency was inversely associated with youth's positive family relationships (r = -.10) and socioemotional outcomes (r = -.10) and positively related to youth's acculturation stress (r = .06). However, positive or negative language brokering feelings were stronger predictors of youth' well-being or maladjustment (|r| = .10-.29). The associations between language brokering frequency and youth's adjustment also varied across subgroups, with the effects of frequent language brokering being more detrimental for European immigrant-origin (vs. Latinx), female (vs. male), and foreign-born (vs. native-born) youth. These findings underscore the need for a nuanced understanding of the impacts of youth language brokering. Finally, practical and policy implications are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).