Adverse Childhood Experiences, Resilience, and Emotional Problems in Latinx Immigrant Youth

Although research suggests that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are associated with emotional problems, individuals with higher resilience experience less emotional problems. This relation has yet to be examined in the growing Latinx immigrant youth population in the United States. To study the relation between ACEs, emotional problems, and resilience, recently immigrated Latinx youth (N=85) were interviewed using the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study questionnaire, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and the Resilience Scale. Moderation analyses revealed ACEs were directly associated with emotional problems, as was resilience. While the interaction effect was not significant, conditional effects indicated a buffering effect such that the relation between ACEs and emotional problems was non-significant at high levels of resilience. In addition to the relatively small sample size, available measures for assessing ACEs and emotional problems are limited in capturing difficulties experienced by Latinx immigrants. Results indicate that individuals with higher resilience do not experience higher emotional problems in the context of childhood adversity. This study contributes to the growing literature on protective factors in Latinx immigrant youth, indicating that assessment of resilience may be beneficial in treating individuals exposed to adversity to mitigate the development of emotional problems.