Validation of the Family Fear of Deportation Scale for youth

• Published date: 01 July 2023
• Author: Ronald B. Cox,Hua Lin,Maritza Jireh Leon Cartagena,Kimberly A. Greder,Robert E. Larzelere,Isaac J. Washburn,Sumeyra Sahbaz
• Date: 01 July 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12719

RESEARCH

Validation of the Family Fear of Deportation

Scale for youth

Ronald B. Cox Jr

1

|Hua Lin

1

|Maritza Jireh Leon Cartagena

1

|

Kimberly A. Greder

2

|Robert E. Larzelere

1

|Isaac J. Washburn

1

|

Sumeyra Sahbaz

1

1

Department of Human Development and

Family Science, Oklahoma State University,

Stillwater, OK, United States

2

Department of Human Development and

Family Studies/Human Sciences Extension and

Outreach, Iowa State University, Ames, IA,

United States

Correspondence

Ronald B. Cox Jr, Department of HDFS,

233 Human Sciences, Oklahoma State

University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA.

Email: r.cox@okstate.edu

Funding information

The writing of this manuscript was supported

by the Oklahoma State University Center for

Immigrant Health and Education and by

funding from the United States Department of

Agriculture, National Institute of Food and

Agriculture, Children Youth and Families at

Risk Grants (2017-41520-26875 to R. Cox),

the National Institute on Drug Abuse (grant

R15DA049232 to R. Cox), and the George

Kaiser Family Foundation (R. Cox).

Abstract

Objective: This study reports on the psychometric proper-

ties of a new instrument to assess family fear of deportation

in two versions (binary and polytomousresponse options).

Background: The impact of fear of deportation extends

beyond foreign-born youth to U.S. citizen children in fam-

ilies with unauthorized members, and negatively affects

their academic achievement and their physical, mental,

and behavioral health. A measure assessing levels of fear

of deportation among youth is lacking.

Methods: Participants were first- and second-generation

Latino immigrant youth (N=145 in Study 1 and N=107

in Study 2). Item response theory (IRT), confirmatory fac-

tor analysis (CFA), correlation analysis, and reliability tests

were used to assess the scale’s psychometric properties.

Results: The results supported a five-item binary version and

a six-item polytomous version of the scale. Both demonstrated

excellent model fit, good reliability, and criterion validity.

Conclusions: The six-item polytomous version is slightly more

parsimonious than the five-item binary version scale, has bet-

ter internal consistency, and captures a modestly wider range

of the construct. The binary version may be preferable for

immigrant youth who prefer straightforward response options.

Implications: Researchers and practitioners can use either

version of the Family Fear of Deportation Scale with con-

fidence to assess deportation-related fear among Latino

immigrant youth.

KEYWORDS

CFA, fear of deportation scale, IRT psychometrics, Latino immigrant

youth, validity

Received: 23 April 2021Revised: 2 December 2021Accepted: 20 February 2022

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12719

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits

use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or

adaptations are made.

© 2022 The Authors. Family Relations published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of National Council on Family Relations.

734 Family Relations. 2023;72:734–754.

wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare

INTRODUCTION

An estimated 88% of United States (U.S.) population growth over the next 5 decades will be

due to immigrants and their descendants, of which Latinos will be the majority (Fry

et al., 2015). Sadly, due to decades of aggressive immigration policy a large number of immi-

grants live with the chronic fear and stress of either themselves or a loved one being deported.

This is particularly true for the Latino population in the United States, which has increased by

about 2% a year for the past decade, growing to 60.6 million in 2020 (Noe-Bustamante

et al., 2020). Fear of deportation is likely greater among Latinos. Although Latinos make up

only about 50% of the total U.S. immigrant population, they account for over 90% of all depor-

tations (Budiman, 2020). Even U.S. citizens of Latino descent are not immune to experiencing

fear of deportation. Foreign born (first generation) Latinos are the most susceptible to deporta-

tion and report the most fear. However, second- and third-generation Latinos, who by defini-

tion are U.S. citizens, also report high levels of fear of being mistakenly detained or of having a

loved one or close friend detained or deported (Asad, 2020).

Given the long-lasting negative effects associated with living under a cloud of fear (Society

for Community Research and Action, 2018), coupled with the rapid growth of new immigrants

and their descendants in the United States, there is an urgent need to better understand the

effects of fear of deportation on children, families, and adults. However, few studies have exam-

ined the validity and reliability of survey measures used to assess fear of deportation among

Latino immigrant populations (Arbona et al., 2010), and none, to our knowledge, has been vali-

dated for use with youth. To inform further research and practice with Latino immigrant fami-

lies, this paper (a) provides an overview of changes in the behaviors of Latino immigrant

families due to strict enforcement of immigration policies, (b) describes the development of two

versions of a new Family Fear of Deportation Scale (FFDS), and (c) reports on the psychomet-

ric properties of these two versions of the FFDS.

BACKGROUND

Pervasive effects of the fear of deportation

Over the past several decades, increased concerns regarding the rising costs of meeting the social

and educational needs of immigrants has led to deportation being used as a form of immigra-

tion control in the United States (De Genova, 2013; for a review of immigration policies see

S. A. Torres et al., 2018). For example, the number of deportations between 1997 and 2012 was

greater than the total number of individuals deported in U.S. history prior to 1997 (U.S.

Department of Homeland Security, 2015). Deportations reached record highs under the Obama

administration (432,281 in 2013) and remained elevated under the Trump administration

(337,287 in 2018; Gramlich, 2020). Additionally, persistently high rates of racism and discrimi-

nation have been directed toward immigrants and particularly toward immigrants who have

darker skin tones and limited English language skills (American Psychological

Association, 2012; Lopez et al., 2010; Tummala-Narra, 2020). Several researchers have

suggested that the nation’s deportation efforts are racialized as evidenced by a disproportionate

amount of Latinos targeted (e.g., Yoshikawa et al., 2016). Others underscore that immigrant

detainees and deportees are also overwhelmingly male, which has had severe negative effects on

family stability (Golash-Boza & Hondagneu-Sotelo, 2013).

The forced removal of a family member due to deportation can have dire consequences for

children, including feelings of abandonment, symptoms of trauma, social isolation, academic

declines, depression, increased poverty, and family fragmentation (Anderson & Finch, 2014;

Gulbas et al., 2016; Stein et al., 2016; Zayas, 2015). However, regardless of whether or not a

VALIDATION OF THE FAMILY FEAR OF DEPORTATION SCALE

FOR YOUTH

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