Mental health risk factors associated with childhood language brokering

Abstract

AbstractServing as a language translator (broker) for family members during childhood can affect cognitive and emotional functions in both beneficial and detrimental ways. Child language brokers translate in a variety of contexts including conversations between their parents and financial, legal and medical professionals. Pressure to be involved in these activities may negatively affect mental health by placing undue stress on child language brokers, while also distracting them from other responsibilities such as school. In this study, the relationship between language brokering during childhood and adolescence and the mental health of bilingual young adults was examined. Overall, language brokers had higher levels of depression. Young adults who previously served as language brokers, particularly during their preadolescent years, had higher levels of anxiety than their bilingual non-brokering counterparts. It is important for parents, educators and mental health professionals to become more aware of the mental health consequences that may arise from language brokering duties, particularly how symptoms vary depending on whether brokering began in childhood or adolescence.Keywords: language brokeringtranslationpsychological healthanxietydepression AcknowledgementsWe would like to thank Natasha Vyas, Eva Gjorgieva and Krishna Bharani for their contributions to this project. The Loyola University Chicago Dean of Arts and Sciences, the Dean of the Graduate School and the Loyola University Chicago Carbon Scholars Fund provided generous support for the project and project personnel. A preliminary version of these results was presented at the Society for Research in Child Development in Seattle, Washington.