Exploring resource profiles among trauma exposed youth: An identity-focused, cultural, and person-centered approach

Resilience is a multi-faceted construct comprised of both internal and external resources that support adaptive functioning following trauma exposure. The role of resilience in ameliorating internalizing symptoms may depend on its typology as opposed to its presence alone, suggesting the existence of distinct subpopulations with heterogeneous resource profiles. The current study employs Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) to identify and characterize profiles of resilience-related resources among youth exposed to trauma from an identity-focused, cultural lens.

Patterns of resources were examined in 1,538 youth (M_age = 13.4, 51.9% female) from a large longitudinal registry of trauma exposed youth in Texas using LPA. Profiles were related to demographic variables and internalizing symptoms (post-traumatic stress symptoms [PTSS], depression, and anxiety) using multinomial regression.

Results demonstrated an optimal four-class solution (Low Social Support and Average ERI, 31.2 %; Average Level of Protective Factors, 27.4 %; Ethnic Identity Diffusion, 18.1 %; Social Support Dominant, 23.2 %). Depressive symptoms significantly differentiated between classes in the four-class model as well as youth race, age, and ethnicity. Anxiety symptoms and PTSS did not differentiate the classes as clearly.

Person-centered analyses such as LPA underscore the value of examining resilience as a multi-faceted and heterogenous pattern of resources shaped by socio-ecological and cultural contexts among trauma-exposed youth. Implications for clinical intervention are discussed.