Childhood trauma and the role of ethnic pride and interpersonal relationships among Latina mothers.

Abstract

Objective:The current study sought to investigate the link between cumulative childhood trauma and depressive mood in urban Latina mothers (n ϭ 209). Specifically, we tested the role of ethnic pride and its conditional direct and indirect effect on depressive mood with interpersonal functioning as a mediating pathway. Method: The sample (age: M ϭ 36.62, SD ϭ 6.72; 83.3% foreign-born) comprises mothers of children enrolled in a school-based intervention study. Analyses focus on baseline data, including interviews assessing childhood trauma, interpersonal functioning, depression, ethnic pride, and acculturation conducted by bilingual (Spanish and English) clinicians in the preferred language of the participants. Results: Using linear regression analyses, results indicated that the link between childhood trauma and depression functions in part through impairments in interpersonal functioning. Ethnic pride moderated the indirect pathway serving as a buffer for those with low interpersonal functioning. Conclusions: Findings highlighted the saliency of including ethnic pride when working with Latina mothers and provided important implications for assessment and clinical intervention. Clinical Impact StatementOur findings support (1) the importance of assessing ethnic pride and a sense of belongingness to the Latinx community during initial assessment and treatment planning and (2) the potential benefits of integrating the promotion of interpersonal functioning as an explicit treatment target when working with Latina women. Traditional approaches to interpersonal psychotherapy may benefit from purposefully incorporating ethnic pride as an additional tool to promote a sense of belongingness and connection to their group.