Youth In Colombia Research Articles

Why do rural youth migrate? Evidence from Colombia and Guatemala.

Migration, from rural to urban settings is a common phenomenon in Latin America, due to social, economic, political, and other factors. Young people in search of economic and educational opportunities, financial, and social stability, have been migrating to larger urban centers, thus crafting important shifts in rural labor, generational transfer, and domestic economies. Through a systematic literature review of scientific literature, and documents from public institutions and international organizations, published between 2012 and 2022, this article addresses rural-urban migration of youth in Colombia and Guatemala's cattle sector, particularly identifying (i) driving factors, (ii) their impacts on cattle farming, and (iii) public policies implemented to counteract prejudicial effects. Results show that unemployment, lack of educational opportunities, and insecurity are the main reasons for youth migration to cities or abroad, with Mexico, the United States, and Spain being the most common destinations. Additionally, impacts on the cattle sector include shortage of labor and a perfectible generational transfer, hindering the modernization of the industry and investments in climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. Despite various implemented public policies, the results are partial, and the issue of accelerated youth migration remains relevant. Consequently, without more effective measures adopted by national governments, the cattle sector will lag behind its regional and international competitors, deterring the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. As the main contribution of the study, the analysis of migration is highlighted based on its effects on a specific economic sector and not focused on its causes, as evidenced in a wide range of literature.

Correction to ‘The long hard road of reconciliation: Prefiguring cultures of peace through the transformation of representations of former combatants and identities of urban youth in Colombia’

Correction to ‘The long hard road of reconciliation: Prefiguring cultures of peace through the transformation of representations of former combatants and identities of urban youth in Colombia’

Online xenophobia and mental health among Venezuelan migrant youth in Colombia: The interplay with "in-person" discrimination.

Emerging research provides insights into migration-related cultural stress experiences and mental health among Venezuelan migrants; however, prior studies have not considered the critical distinction between online xenophobia and in-person discrimination. To address this gap, we assess the psychometric properties of an abbreviated version of the Perceived Online Racism Scale (PORS) with Venezuelan migrant youth and examine the interplay between online xenophobia, in-person discrimination, and mental health. Survey data were collected from Venezuelan migrant youth (N = 319; ages 13-17, 49.5% female) in Colombia in April-July 2023. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine the PORS, and multiple regression was conducted to examine key associations. The CFA showed excellent model fit: χ²(7) = 13.498, p = .061; comparative fit index = .989; Tucker-Lewis index = .977; root-mean-square error of approximation = .055; standardized root-mean-square residual = .026. Controlling for demographic factors, online xenophobia was associated with depressive symptoms (β = .253, p < .001) and anxiety (β = .200, p = .001). The online xenophobia-mental health association weakened when controlling for in-person discrimination but remained nevertheless significant (depression: β = .181, p = .002, anxiety: β = .135, p = .026). Interaction effects (Online × In-Person) revealed a pattern in which greater exposure to online xenophobia was associated with greater distress, but only at relatively low levels of in-person discrimination. Findings provide new insights regarding (a) the properties of an increasingly relevant measure of cultural stress, (b) how online xenophobia relates to mental health, and (c) the interplay of online and in-person cultural stressors vis-à-vis mental health among Venezuelan migrant youth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The social protection of children and youth in Colombia: interpretive review

Introduction: The rights of social protection policies for children and youth need to be discussed for their strengthening to guarantee universality or to create new forms of that policies. Method: Documentary review supported by content analysis techniques and interpretive analysis of four social protection systems for children and youth: integral social security, family subsidy, social assistance, and the national system of family welfare. For the analysis, theoretical-political references to universal social protection and the doctrine of the protection of the rights of children and young people were considered. Results: The social protection systems analyzed are described in terms of implementation mechanisms, participation of children and youth criteria, financing, and rectory. The life course approach and its universality, institutional appropriation, and participation of children and young people were discussed. Conclusion: The social protection systems analyzed show social protection strategies for children and young people within the framework of the Social Constitutional State, but they are implemented through welfare, compensatory and targeted policies that contrast the perspectives of needs with that of the protection of children’s rights, and provide insufficient support for the principles of equality, participation, and universality.

The long hard road of reconciliation: Prefiguring cultures of peace through the transformation of representations of former combatants and identities of urban youth in Colombia

AbstractThe Colombian peace accords of 2016 involved a formal commitment to peace between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia‐People's Army (FARC‐EP in Spanish) and the national government. Despite this advance, societal reconciliation and sustainable peace remain key challenges. Through a longitudinal qualitative design, we investigate the encounter between former guerrilla members and urban university students in a community‐based educational space in rural Colombia. Drawing on a social representational approach, we focus on youth's representations of self (students), the remote other (former guerrilla members) and peace and reconciliation as they are produced before, during and after the encounter. Participants were 24 students enrolled in a service‐learning course at an urban university in Bogotá. Data collection included written narratives, audio‐visual material, focus groups and interviews. Thematic analyses show that as urban youth meet, spend time, and share space and common activities with the former combatants, both representations and identities are transformed. These transformations in self–other understandings unsettle hegemonic narratives supporting an ethos of conflict and introduce alternative representations that prefigure the consolidation of peace‐supporting counternarratives. Our results highlight both the resilience of hegemonic narratives and the long‐term effects of small‐scale educational knowledge encounters for producing agents of peace, recognising the other and prefiguring social change. Reconciliation as process must be thus understood as the uneven development of meaningful self–other interactionsthat recasts the social fabric as interdependent and builds shared intentionality for achieving sustainable peace.

Beauty has no age anymore: Fashion and youth in Colombia (1970–99)

This article analyses the cultural construction of youth and beauty as socially dominant values through an interrogation of Colombian fashion magazines produced between 1970 and 1999. To this end, the article analyses the role of fashion and the textile industry – including brands, textile companies and designers – within this key period to understand the transformation of male and female values in the process of establishing youth as an imperative standard for appearance and behaviour. The methodology used is discourse analysis applied to visual and textual advertising published by fashion magazines during the aforementioned period, as a means to understand the ideals and values of fashion and its material culture. This article reveals the tensions between the historical construction of youth in Colombia and the textile and fashion industries, the de-differentiation of youth as a value in men and women, and the paradoxical ambiguity between the ephemeral logic of fashion and the eternal aspiration of youth. These issues have not been adequately explored with regard to Colombia yet.

Recent trends in the youth labor market in Colombia: Diagnosis and policy challenges

Abstract This paper characterizes the labor market of youth in Colombia from 2008 to 2017. We estimate labor market indicators for individuals aged between 14 and 28 years using microdata from Colombia's household surveys over the study period. Our estimates document the main patterns and trends in the labor market of youth in labor force participation, employment, unemployment, informality, and earnings. We compare these statistics with the same indicators of adults (individuals aged between 29 and 65 years), and explore differences in characteristics within youth such as gender, region, educational attainment, socioeconomic status (SES), and experience. Results indicate that participation rate of young Colombians have increased in recent years, but are mainly employed in low-quality jobs namely unsalaried and informal. We also document marked inequalities in labor market outcomes across youth characteristics. We provide a series of recommendations to guide future youth labor policy based on these estimates as well as the critical analysis of recent youth policies in Colombia.

Protest Song and Countercultural Discourses of Resistance in 1960s Colombia

In Colombia, the tumultuous second half of the twentieth century kicked off with a fierce conflict between the Liberal and Conservative parties known as La Violencia (The Violence, ca. 1948-1958). Following a brief period of military rule (1953-1957), a bipartisan system of shared governance, the National Front (1958-1974), brought about some respite to the sectarian bloodshed. However, the exclusionary two-party system precipitated new lines of conflict between the state and communist guerrillas. Along with the political turmoil, the nation was also undergoing an era of profound cultural change. This essay examines three countercultural-oppositional movements that captivated a wide swath of youth in Colombia’s biggest cities during the 1960s: the canción protesta (protest song) movement, the rock and roll subculture denominated as nueva ola (new wave), and nadaísmo, a rabblerousing avantgarde literary movement. I analyze the correspondences and discontinuities in the ways adherents of these movements conceived of the ideal means to carry out social, cultural, and political resistance. While there were fundamental tensions between the “discourses of resistance” linked to these three countercultural streams, I argue that their convergence in the late 1960s facilitated the emergence of a commercial form of canción protesta.

P-04-15 From Spain to Colombia: Adaptation Process of Competences for Adolescents With a Healthy Sexuality Program (COMPAS)

In Latin America, unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in youth are two main public health problems. Colombia accounts for one of the highest prevalence rate of HIV and STIs in this population; however, a national standardized sex education program for adolescents is still not available. Competences for adolescents with a Healthy Sexuality (COMPAS for its acronym in Spanish) - a school-based sexual health promotion intervention for Spanish adolescents - was adapted for Colombian youth. We hypothesized that COMPAS key elements would be translated and its effectiveness would be retained. This research describes the adaptation process that resulted in an adapted version for youth in Colombia. A mixed-method approach was used to conduct this systematic cultural adaptation process that involved 100 Colombian young girls and boys. Adaptation process included these steps: 1) Consulting international researchers and community stakeholders, 2) Capturing the lived experiences of a diverse sample of Colombian youth,

The monument to the children of Villatina: commemorating innocent child victims in the context of lethally stigmatized youth in Colombia

This article examines the monument for the children of Villatina (2004, Medellin, Colombia) that resulted from the Masacre Villatina v. Colombia Friendly Agreement put forward by the Grupo Interdis...

Adaptation of an effective school-based sexual health promotion program for youth in Colombia

RationaleGiven the disproportionate impact of HIV and STIs among youth in Latin America, there is a compelling need for effective sex education programs. In particular, Colombia lacks a nationally standardized youth sex education program, despite the fact that 15 to 24-year-olds accounted for the highest incidence and prevalence rates of HIV and STIs in the nation. In an attempt to fill this void, our team adapted COMPAS, a Spanish school-based sexual health promotion intervention, for Colombian adolescents. Objective: This study describes the adaptation process that resulted in a modified version of COMPAS for youth in Colombia. Method: We employed a systematic cultural adaptation process utilizing a mixed methods approach, including intervention adaptation sessions with 100 young adolescents aged 15–19. The process included six steps: 1) consulting international researchers and community stakeholders; 2) capturing the lived experiences of a diverse sample of colombian youth; 3) identifying priorities and areas in need of improvement; 4) integrating the social cognitive theory, information-motivation-behavioral skills model, and an ecological framework for colombian youth; 5) adapting intervention content, activities, and materials; and 6) quantitative evaluation of COMPAS by Colombian youth. Results: The adapted intervention incorporates elements common to effective youth sex education interventions, including: a solid theoretical foundation, sexual communication skills and social support for protection, and guidance on how to utilize available cultural- and linguistic-appropriate services. In addition, the adapted intervention incorporates cultural and linguistic appropriate content, including an emphasis on tackling machismo to promote risk reduction behaviors. Conclusions: The systematic adaptation approach to sexual health intervention for youth can be employed by researchers and community stakeholders in low-resource settings for the promotion of health wellness, linkage to care, and STI and unplanned pregnancy prevention for youth.

Psychometric properties of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire – Youth in Colombia

The Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire – Youth (AFQ-Y) is a widely used measure of psychological inflexibility in children and adolescents. It is a 17-item questionnaire which also has an 8-item version (AFQ-Y-8). The AFQ-Y has been adapted into some languages, including Spanish. Overall, the AFQ-Y seems to be a sound measure although there is some debate concerning the factor structure of the long version, with studies suggesting one- and two-factor structures. This study presents the adaptation of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire – Youth (AFQ-Y) for Colombian participants and its psychometric analysis in a sample of 1127 participants aged 8–18 years. All items obtained good discrimination indexes, and both the AFQ-Y and AFQ-Y-8 showed good internal consistency. The confirmatory factor analyses supported the one-factor structure in both versions of the questionnaire. Additionally, both versions showed measurement invariance across gender and age group. Girls obtained higher scores than boys both in the AFQ-Y and the AFQ-Y-8. Both versions showed similar and strong correlations with measures of generalized pliance, repetitive negative thinking, pathological worry, and emotional symptoms. In conclusion, the AFQ-Y and the AFQ-Y-8 seem to be valid and reliable measures of psychological inflexibility in Colombian children and adolescents.

Nudging Youth to Develop Savings Habits: Experimental Evidence Using SMS Messages

We report results from a field experiment that articulates financial information delivery through cellphone text messages and financial decisions among low-income youth in Colombia. Youth accountholders are randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: i) twelve monthly financial education messages, ii) twelve monthly savings reminders, iii) twenty-four semimonthly reminders and iv) control. After twelve months, account balances of youth assigned to receive monthly and semimonthly reminders increase by 28 and 43 percent, respectively, relative to controls. Financial education messages do not increase account balances. At least two thirds of account balance increases in reminder groups are net savings increases. Savings effects of reminders last even eight months after youth stop receiving messages, the latest we can observe.

Vocational Training for Disadvantaged Youth in Colombia: A Long-Term Follow-Up

We evaluate the long-term impacts of a randomized Colombian training and job placement program. Following the large short-term effects, we now find that the program effects persist, increasing formal participation and earnings contributions to social security and working in larger firms. By using a large administrative source we are also able to establish that the program improved both male and female labor market outcomes by a similar amount—a result that was not apparent with the smaller evaluation sample. The results point to a cost-effective approach to reducing informality and improving labor market outcomes in the long run. (JEL I28, J13, J24, J31, O15)

El movimiento sindical de los maestros en Colombia: de la acción colectiva estratégica a la acción colectiva identitaria

Objetivo: presentar una revisión teórica sobre la acción colectiva en el marco del proceso de construcción del estado del arte del proyecto “Movilizaciones de acción política de jóvenes en Colombia desde la paz y la noviolencia”, desarrollado por el Consorcio “Niños, niñas y jóvenes constructores de paz: Democracia, Reconciliación y Paz”. Dicha revisión busca fundamentar teóricamente la acción colectiva como posibilidad de transformación social.Metodología: se partió de los fundamentos conceptuales de la acción colectiva para interpretar un proceso específico de acción colectiva en Colombia: el movimiento sindical del magisterio oficial. Esto, para evitar el alejamiento de las pretensiones del pensamiento crítico latinoamericano en relación con la construcción de conocimiento desde la propia realidad y desde el legado de las movilizaciones populares en América Latina en la validación de dichas construcciones.Resultados: se encontró que dicho movimiento no ostenta todos los elementos que caracterizan a los nuevos movimientos sociales, puesto que se orienta a la búsqueda de intereses individuales, de orden material, más que al empoderamiento de los actores como parte de la sociedad civil y ha mantenido esquemas de liderazgo burocrático, que invisibilizan la heterogeneidad del colectivo. Conclusiones: es necesario superar la racionalidad estratégica-instrumental y trascender hacia una acción colectiva identitaria, desde lógicas organizativas de participación directa, en las que la acción comunicativa se configure desde la multiplicidad de voces de los actores, con miras a impactar, más allá de unos intereses gremiales, las expectativas y demandas de la sociedad.

Reflections on a participatory documentary process: constructing territorial histories of dispossession among Afro‐descendant youth in Colombia

This paper seeks to discuss the use of a participatory documentary process (PDP) in human geography as a method of constructing critical visual information on territorial histories of dispossession. The process was also used to enhance social change both in conjunction with local communities and within the communities themselves. The project involved 14 local young participants and four professionals who collectively produced a documentary on the rural context of violence in La Toma District, Colombia. By enabling the reflections and intentions of young participants in the research process, PDP gave special value to their social and political commitment to supporting community social organisation, and provided fresh research insights into comprehending territorial conflict. The paper concludes that this method amplifies participatory and action research approaches in geography by producing knowledge that is academically and socially relevant. Such collective, emancipatory and anti‐hegemonic visual representations and actions for social change in PDP are especially pertinent in spaces of conflict and violence.

Youth Studies in Colombia: State of the Art

This study is based on the most recent state of the art report about Youth in Colombia; the article summarizes the process of construction of youth as a specialized field of knowledge in Colombia. It reviews the researches and studies carried out during a period of 20 years (1985–2003) in 18 Colombian cities. This state of the art is a model that aims at transcending the cataloguing and abstract-type synthesis of research studies, in order to consolidate a more profound analysis that will account for the thematic treatment and the underlying notions of young subjects. The project has been produced on the basis of the following questions: What knowledge of male and female Colombian youth has been produced? Who has produced it? How has it been produced and what kind of subject is being constructed? After 2003, there is a sustained production of bibliography concerning the main topics of the youth condition, with progressively qualified contributions. By contrast, the State since 2006 has practically abandoned the institutionality that had been created for designing and managing public policies on youth.

Sexual Violence as a Predictor of Unintended Pregnancy, Contraceptive Use, and Unmet Need Among Female Youth in Colombia

Violence against women is an important risk factor for unintended pregnancy and contraceptive use, although less is known about this relationship among youth. This study aims to investigate linkages between sexual violence and unintended pregnancy among Colombian female youth (aged 13-24). Using the nationally representative Colombian Demographic and Health Survey (2005), the association of sexual violence with unintended pregnancy, current modern contraceptive use, and unmet need for contraception is examined using Pearson's chi-square tests and logistic regression models. Of female youth who have been pregnant in the past 5 years, 13% report experiencing sexual violence during their lifetimes, with 6% reporting sexual violence perpetrated by a spouse or partner and 8% by someone else. Among female youth at risk of unintended pregnancy, sexual violence is reported by 11%. About 5% of these female youth report sexual violence from a spouse or partner, and 7% report being forced to have sex with someone else. In cross-tabulations, female youth who have experienced sexual violence report significantly higher levels of unintended pregnancy and unmet need for contraception and lower levels of current modern contraceptive use compared to those who have not experienced sexual violence. In multivariate logistic regression models, sexual violence is associated with increased risk for unintended pregnancy (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1-1.8), unmet need for contraception (AOR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1-2.0), and decreased likelihood of current contraceptive use (AOR 0.8, 95% CI 0.6-1.0). This analysis indicates that sexual violence is pervasive in Colombia and is consistently linked to increased risk of unintended pregnancy among female youth. Because youth are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence and may have difficulty accessing services, preventive efforts and clinical responses should be specifically crafted to curb violence against young women as well as reduce the longitudinal impact of experiencing sexual violence.

Subsidizing Vocational Training for Disadvantaged Youth in Colombia: Evidence from a Randomized Trial

This paper evaluates the impact of a randomized training program for disadvantaged youth introduced in Colombia in 2005. This randomized trial offers a unique opportunity to examine the impact of training in a middle income country. We use originally collected data on individuals randomly offered and not offered training. The program raises earnings and employment for women. Women offered training earn 19.6 percent more and have a 0.068 higher probability of paid employment than those not offered training, mainly in formal-sector jobs. Cost-benefit analysis of these results suggests that the program generates much larger net gains than those found in developed countries. (JEL I28, J13, J24, O15)

HIV prevention in Latin America: Reaching youth in Colombia

The aim of this paper is to describe and evaluate a school-based peer education programme on HIV primary prevention implemented in urban marginal districts of three cities of Colombia from 1997 to 1999. Its main objective was to promote risk awareness and safe sexual behaviours among urban youth populations. Methodology included the collection of baseline information through qualitative methods (focus groups and in-depth interviews), a knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) survey, a health education intervention, and post-intervention data collection. Direct beneficiaries were adolescents 10 to 19 years of age, and secondary school teachers of 6th to 9th grades. Main strategies used were peer education and classroom sessions conducted by trained teachers. Short-term results suggest that the programme had a positive effect on knowledge and attitudes related to HIV/AIDS (as the mean knowledge summary indicator among adolescents and secondary school teachers increased 24% and 21%, respectively). The main outcome has been the development of a sex education programme, emphasizing the role of schools in the promotion of sexual and reproductive health. Mass education by a combination of interventions and events at school level, backed up by effective interpersonal communication such as peer education, classroom teaching and community actions are effective primary prevention strategies for HIV sexual transmission and should be more extensively considered.