IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v16y2019i18p3465-d268155.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Generalized Violence as a Threat to Health and Well-Being: A Qualitative Study of Youth Living in Urban Settings in Central America’s “Northern Triangle”

Author

Listed:
  • Maria De Jesus

    (School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC 20016, USA
    Center on Health, Risk, and Society, American University, Washington, DC 20016, USA)

  • Carissa Hernandes

    (School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC 20016, USA)

Abstract

El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras rank among the top 10 countries experiencing violence in the world, despite not being at war. Although there is abundant literature on generalized violence in this “northern triangle” of Central America as a driver of out-migration to the United States, very little is known about the perspectives and experiences of youth who do not migrate. This study aimed to elicit the emic perspectives of youth residing in the region on how the day-to-day generalized violence produces a pervasive threat to the overall health and human security of youth as well as the key protective factors and resiliencies at work. We conducted two separate waves of qualitative research in 2015 and 2018 over a 6-month period, which included 60 in-depth interviews and six focus groups among Salvadoran, Guatemalan and Honduran youth living in urban areas. Qualitative thematic analysis revealed two meta-themes: (1) ‘Lack of health,’ defined as not experiencing peace within the family, the community, and the country’ and (2) ‘Resilience.’ Thematic clusters that reflect the first meta-theme are: (1) violence as a common occurrence; (2) living in fear and insecurity; (3) victimization; and (4) lack of state protection and services. Thematic clusters for the second meta-theme are: (1) a positive future outlook and a commitment to education; (2) transnational and local family network support; and (3) engagement in community-based youth groups. To interpret the findings, we adopt the Latin American Social Medicine and Collective Health (LASM-CH) approach that prioritizes perspectives from the region. Generalized violence is conceptualized as a systemic phenomenon that is generated and reproduced through the complex interactions of structural inequities and unequal power relations. The findings of this study provide new insights into the implementation of a different approach to address the generalized violence, insights that may guide multi-sectoral health policies and interventions both in the region and transnationally.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria De Jesus & Carissa Hernandes, 2019. "Generalized Violence as a Threat to Health and Well-Being: A Qualitative Study of Youth Living in Urban Settings in Central America’s “Northern Triangle”," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-17, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:18:p:3465-:d:268155
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/18/3465/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/18/3465/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pedersen, Duncan & Tremblay, Jacques & Errázuriz, Consuelo & Gamarra, Jeffrey, 2008. "The sequelae of political violence: Assessing trauma, suffering and dislocation in the Peruvian highlands," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 205-217, July.
    2. Heinemann, Alessandra & Verner, Dorte, 2006. "Crime and violence in development : a literature review of Latin America and the Caribbean," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4041, The World Bank.
    3. Waitzkin, H. & Iriart, C. & Estrada, A. & Lamadrid, S., 2001. "Social medicine then and now: Lessons from Latin America," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 91(10), pages 1592-1601.
    4. Breilh, Jaime & Granda, Edmundo, 1989. "Epidemiologia y contrahegemonia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 28(11), pages 1121-1127, January.
    5. Tajer, D., 2003. "Latin American Social Medicine: Roots, Development during the 1990s, and Current Challenges," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 93(12), pages 2023-2027.
    6. Al-Eissa, Youssef A., 1995. "The impact of the Gulf armed conflict on the health and behaviour of Kuwaiti children," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 41(7), pages 1033-1037, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gilbert, Paul A. & Zemore, Sarah E., 2016. "Discrimination and drinking: A systematic review of the evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 178-194.
    2. Flores, Elaine C. & Carnero, Andres M. & Bayer, Angela M., 2014. "Social capital and chronic post-traumatic stress disorder among survivors of the 2007 earthquake in Pisco, Peru," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 9-17.
    3. Borde, Elis & Hernández-Álvarez, Mario, 2022. "Fractured lives in fractured cities: Towards a critical understanding of urban violence in the context of market-driven urban restructuring processes in Bogotá and Rio de Janeiro," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
    4. Alejandro Gaviria & Carlos Medina & Leonardo Morales & Jairo Núñez, 2010. "The Cost of Avoiding Crime: The Case of Bogotá," NBER Chapters, in: The Economics of Crime: Lessons For and From Latin America, pages 101-132, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Alejandro Gaviria & Carlos Medina & Jorge Tamayo, 2010. "Assessing the Link between Adolescent Fertility and Urban Crime," Borradores de Economia 6860, Banco de la Republica.
    6. Cesar Ivan Aviles Gonzalez & Doris Marina Cerchiaro Fernandez & Martha Esther Guerra Munoz & Robert Romero Ramirez & Yessika Madelaine Abarca Arias & Maria Veronica Brasesco & Gian Mario Migliaccio & , 2024. "Mental Health Professionals’ Perception of Respect for Human Rights and Organizational Well-Being in Three Countries of South America," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(2), pages 1-12, February.
    7. Foureaux Koppensteiner, Martin & Manacorda, Marco, 2016. "Violence and birth outcomes: Evidence from homicides in Brazil," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 16-33.
    8. Felipe Santos‐Marquez & Carlos Mendez, 2021. "Regional convergence, spatial scale, and spatial dependence: Evidence from homicides and personal injuries in Colombia 2010–2018," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(4), pages 1162-1184, August.
    9. Panter-Brick, Catherine & Eggerman, Mark, 2018. "The field of medical anthropology in Social Science & Medicine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 233-239.
    10. Robillard, Chantal, 2010. "The gendered experience of stigmatization in severe and persistent mental illness in Lima, Peru," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(12), pages 2178-2186, December.
    11. Eggerman, Mark & Panter-Brick, Catherine, 2010. "Suffering, hope, and entrapment: Resilience and cultural values in Afghanistan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 71-83, July.
    12. Martin Foureaux Koppensteiner & Marco Manacorda, 2013. "The Effect of Violence on Birth Outcomes: Evidence from Homicides in Rural Brazil," Research Department Publications IDB-WP-416, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    13. Lucinda Cash-Gibson & Diego F Rojas-Gualdrón & Juan M Pericàs & Joan Benach, 2018. "Inequalities in global health inequalities research: A 50-year bibliometric analysis (1966-2015)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(1), pages 1-22, January.
    14. Viridiana Ríos & Edgar Denova-Gutiérrez & Simón Barquera, 2022. "Association between living in municipalities with high crowding conditions and poverty and mortality from COVID-19 in Mexico," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(2), pages 1-15, February.
    15. Jacques Tremblay & Duncan Pedersen & Consuelo Errazuriz, 2009. "Assessing Mental Health Outcomes of Political Violence and Civil Unrest in Peru," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 55(5), pages 449-463, September.
    16. Kehr, Janina & Muinde, Jacinta Victoria Syombua & Prince, Ruth J., 2023. "Health for all? Pasts, presents and futures of aspirations for universal healthcare," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 319(C).
    17. Marco Ferroni & Mercedes Mateo Díaz & J. Mark Payne, 2007. "Development under Conditions of Inequality and Distrust: An Exploration of the Role of Social Capital and Social Cohesion in Latin America," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 53818, Inter-American Development Bank.
    18. Yongjin Choi & Ashley M. Fox, 2022. "Fact‐value framework for adjudicating public health policy debates," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 39(6), pages 820-844, November.
    19. Beiser, Morton & Wiwa, Owens & Adebajo, Sylvia, 2010. "Human-initiated disaster, social disorganization and post-traumatic stress disorder above Nigeria's oil basins," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 221-227, July.
    20. Berkman, Heather, 2007. "Social Exclusion and Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 1962, Inter-American Development Bank.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:18:p:3465-:d:268155. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.