What can we learn from the attachment narratives of Latinx immigrant youth? Descriptive data with implications for future research

Although 2023 U.S.-Mexico border encounters reached record levels, many involving Latinx immigrant youth vulnerable to trauma and mental health difficulties, little is known about linguistic features in these youths' attachment narratives. This study analyzed Child Attachment Interview (CAI) transcripts from 109 recently immigrated Central American high school students. Transcripts were processed with Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software to capture linguistic markers of attachment and were also coded using established CAI procedures for comparison across modalities. With no prior research using CAI and LIWC in Spanish, analyses were exploratory. Findings aligned with earlier work: LIWC markers of security included greater use of cognitive, achievement, and anxiety words, reflecting coherence and openness. Dismissing narratives showed more negations, motion words, and adverbs, while preoccupied narratives featured more hearing words and fewer work terms. LIWC reliably distinguished attachment patterns in immigrant youth, underscoring the need for attachment-focused research and interventions.