The Physiological and Relational Bases of Persistent Posttraumatic Stress in Latino Immigrant Youth - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The number of immigrant families in the U.S. has rapidly increased across the last five years, with particular
growth among Latinos from Central America (USCBP, 2016). Among Latino immigrant youth, posttraumatic
stress symptoms (PSS) are a major public health concern—with our own pilot data showing that 60% of
immigrant children and adolescents experience clinically significant PSS (Venta & Mercado, 2018), in contrast
to less than 15% in non-immigrant groups (Foa et al., 2011). Our data indicate that the mean level of PSS is
161% - 204% higher in immigrant youth than prior estimates in non-immigrants (Venta & Mercado, 2018).
Empirical and meta-analytic findings support an inflammatory hypothesis of PSS: elevations in systemic
inflammatory biomarkers following trauma increase risk for persistent, impairing PSS (Gill et al., 2009).
Conversely, close relationships—like those between parents and their children—have been repeatedly
associated with reduced systemic inflammation (Fagundes et al., 2011). While the level of trauma exposure
that immigrant children experience prior to migration represents a static risk factor for PSS, inflammatory
response, in contrast, represents a dynamic risk factor that may be mitigated through close relationships,
reducing likelihood of persistent PSS after migration. The broad aim of this proposal is to examine the
physiological (i.e., increased inflammatory response) and relational (i.e., parent-child relationship as a buffer)
bases of persistent PSS, a condition that is dramatically overrepresented in Latino immigrants. The study
proposes to recruit N = 100 Latino recent immigrant families for new longitudinal research spanning twelve
months. Methods assess multiple levels of analysis: an experimental task of caregiver mentalizing, a semi-
structured interview of caregiver-child attachment security, self- and caregiver-reports of PSS, and a two-time
point salivary test of inflammatory response. Specific Aim 1 is to test an inflammation-based hypothesis of
PSS. Trauma exposure, inflammatory response (measured via saliva collected before and after a stress
induction), and PSS will be assessed at baseline; PSS will be assessed again at six- and twelve-month follow-
up. It is expected that trauma exposure will be associated with greater inflammation response at baseline,
which, in turn, will be associated with persistent PSS. Specific Aim 2 is to examine the potential protective
effects of the parent-child relationship in the inflammation-based hypothesis of PSS. Parent-child relationship
factors (i.e., caregiver mentalizing and caregiver-child attachment) will be assessed at baseline and examined
as moderators of the risk hypothesis posited in Aim 1. In sum, novel data collected in this study will test a
physiological mechanism underlying a significant health disparity—that Latino immigrant youth are
disproportionately affected by PSS— as well as test the protective role of putative intervention targets (i.e.,
parent-child relationships) in ameliorating risk for persistent PSS. The proposed study will enhance research
opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students via paid, hands-on roles in high-impact research.
