Work

Trauma and mental health: Examining psychosocial changes for Latin American immigrant mothers and young children participating in child–parent psychotherapy.

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Latin American immigrant families with young children may endure traumas in home countries and throughout their journey to the United States. Current evidence suggests that unresolved traumas adversely affect both parents and children in relation to parenting capacities, positive relationships, and healthy child development, necessitating culturally responsive interventions. This study aimed to assess clinical outcomes of trauma-focused child-parent psychotherapy (CPP) for Latin American immigrant mothers with young children living in the northeastern United States. METHOD: tests to assess changes in outcomes between pre- and postintervention among participants and applied repeated-measures linear effects models to examine whether changes in outcomes varied by participants' baseline posttraumatic stress disorder risk. RESULTS: = 55) demonstrated significant decrease in maternal mental health symptoms and trauma-related stress, as well as improvements in parental reflective functioning, family protective factors, and child socioemotional development. Subgroup analysis based on posttraumatic stress disorder risk groups suggested that participants who were at risk for posttraumatic stress disorder showed greater improvements in psychosocial outcomes and parenting capacities, in contrast to their counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: Results from this study indicate the feasibility and efficacy of an application of CPP for Latin American immigrant families with young children. Future research is needed to better understand the implementation of interventions to support mental health and parenting for immigrant populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Source: Psychological Trauma Theory Research Practice and Policy

DOI: 10.1037/tra0002071

Authors: Ruth Paris, Mihoko Maru, Yibin Yang, Karen Garber

Institution: Boston University

Language: English

Topic: Migration, Health and Trauma

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services