Citation

Niño M, Tsuchiya K, Thomas S, Vazquez C. Prev. Med. Rep. 2023; 33: e102185.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102185

PMID

37223581

PMCID

PMC10201834

Abstract

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been linked to poor mental health among Latina/os. Few studies, however, have attempted to understand the extent to which ACEs co-occur and whether different forms of ACE co-occurrence differentially shape poor mental health patterns among Latina/os. The present study begins to address this gap by (1) identifying latent classes of ACEs and (2) determining whether and how different ACE classes shape high depressive symptoms among Latina/o adults. Data were drawn from two waves of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos, a longitudinal, community-based sample of Latina/os living in four urban communities. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was used to identify subgroups of Latina/os who were exposed to co-occurring forms of maltreatment.

RESULTS from the LCA revealed four classes: (1) high ACEs, (2) emotional and physical abuse, (3) low ACEs, and (4) household alcohol/drug use and parental separation/divorce. Regression analyses indicate, when compared to the low ACEs class, Latina/os in the high ACEs class and emotional/physical abuse class were more likely to report high depressive symptoms.

FINDINGS from this study demonstrate ACEs co-occur in distinct classes of maltreatment and different combinations of ACEs uniquely shape the risk of poor mental health among Latina/os.

RESULTS from this study can help inform tailored mental health interventions for Latina/os that have a history of ACE exposure.

Language: en

Keywords

Mental health; Depressive symptoms; Latent class analysis; Adverse childhood experiences; Latino mental health