Exploring the Mental Health & Quality of Life of Latinx Young Adults with Autism

This study explored the social and cultural factors that impact the mental health and quality of life of Latinx young adults with autism living in the United States. The convergent parallel mixed method design gathered a deeper insight into the participant’s intersectionality of race and disability status within their own social context. Socioecological theory guided the conceptualization of the participants’ experiences with the consideration of their environment. In the U.S., Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPoC) experience discriminatory treatment, when compared to White people, sustained through implicit and explicit systematic processes. Therefore, critical race theory (CRT) was used as a social justice framework to identify those overlapping and interdependent systems disadvantaging racially marginalized people. The framework of intersectionality was also engaged, as it further explicates the experiences of people with multiple oppressed identities. The study created a more nuanced understanding of the experiences of Latinx young adults with autism through qualitative research methods, which conducted semi-structured interviews (n=14) and incorporated knowledge from quantitative data collected through a survey instrument (n=17). Despite the small sample size’s inability to show statistically significant relationships among study variables, some insights can be drawn that help understand how social and cultural factors impact mental health (MH) and quality of life (QoL). The qualitative analysis found three overarching themes emerging from the semi-structured interview data: 1) Inclusion and Belonging, 2) “It Just Doesn’t Work”: Facing Unintended Harms and Encountering Obstacles, and 3) Racism and Ableism. The quantitative and qualitative findings highlight how intersectionality and specifically social oppression, impact Latinx young adults with autism. The experiences shared by the participants indicate the usefulness of the socioecological theory to understand the various systemic impacts that they manage daily. Racism and ableism were constant experiences identified by participants and the consequences of those oppressive experiences often led to negative mental health and quality of life. Overall, this study captures the voices and experiences of young adults on the autism spectrum, contributes knowledge about their lives, and makes practice recommendations on how to better support this community. The findings also inform future research and policy development on how to create more equitable opportunities for all.