Through this measure, we aim to capture (from the perspective of young people) the extent to which nonparental adults, including mentors, create opportunities for young people's exploration of social issues and action to address those issues (i.e., their sociopolitical development; SPD). 

Why mentors and other nonparental adults?

• Nonparental adults are embedded within the day-to-day settings that youth navigate and may serve as additional resources for support beyond the sphere of parents and peers (Sterrett et al., 2011).

• For minoritized youth who may have fewer opportunities for SPD due to structural barriers, nonparental adults may expand resources and become partners in social change (Checkoway, 2011). 

• Youth-adult partnerships can be empowering for young people, but these partnerships also have the potential to create stark power imbalances and perpetuate adultism (i.e., oppression experienced by young people due to adult-produced and centered systems; Checkoway, 2011; LeFrançois, 2014; Watts & Flanagan, 2007). 

As such, we decided upon an approach that would help us capture the multidimensionality in which nonparental adults can be supporters or obstacles in the SPD of Latinx youth. 

Additionally, our goal was to ensure that this measure was comprehensive and contextually anchored to the experiences of Latinx youth. Thus, we felt it necessary to involve young Latinx people at every stage of the process. We outline how we did this in the road map below. Click here if you want to receive periodic updates on the measure.