Advance-CTR

Advance-CTR Pilot Projects Program (Cycle 6)

"Transgenerational Trauma in Latinx Families: Impact on parenting, child suicidality and access to mental health services"

The project’s goal is to understand the effect that transgenerational transmission of trauma has on parenting and youth suicidality. Simultaneously, the project will explore the barriers and facilitators to engaging Latinx/Hispanic (L/H) caregivers with trauma in Evidence Based Treatment (EBT). Research has shown that caregivers’ trauma symptoms impact parenting and subsequently their child’s wellbeing. In Rhode Island (RI), the L/H population constitutes 16% of the total population, increasing by approximately 39% in the last 10 years. Reducing health disparities among minoritized groups is one of the priorities of the Rhode Island Department of Health, and one of the main objectives of this project.

To achieve this overall goal the following aims are proposed: Aim 1: Understand how L/H caregivers’ trauma symptoms are related to parenting skills and child suicidality. Aim 2: Assess the experiences and perceptions regarding mental health services and treatment engagement among L/H caregivers with trauma symptoms. For this study, a qualitative approach will be performed by interviewing 15 to 20 L/H caregivers with trauma symptoms who have a child (8-17 years old) with a history of suicidal behavior. The Intergenerational Transmission of Traumatization framework and The Socio-Cultural Framework of Service Disparities approaches will be used to guide thematic analysis. Dr. Duarte-Velez, one of the mentors on this pilot proposal, has worked extensively with suicidal behaviors in L/H adolescents and their families in RI. Dr. Duarte-Velez’s previous work has shown, from the perspective of providers, that some key barriers among the L/H community were access to healthcare, language barriers which affect the L/H family’s ability to navigate the system, and the caregiver-child relationship. By addressing a caregiver’s PTSD, the burden of trauma and its impact on their children could be prevent. This could be accomplished by delivering a timely intervention to work with PTSD symptoms for those at major risk, including L/H caregivers, and overcoming barriers to accessing services.

The successful completion of this study will be fundamental in further modifying and implementing an intervention to help L/H caregivers overcome their trauma and prevent youths from internalizing disorders, which is among the main long-term goals of the PI. Using a qualitative approach and asking caregivers directly about their willingness to receive treatment will provide the opportunity to learn how engaging and providing EBT would best work for L/H caregivers in the RI community.

Mentors