Trauma Exposure and the Mental Health Needs of Latinx Youth: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

Although trauma exposure is common among youth in the United States, it is not evenly distributed. In fact, Latinx youth have higher rates of trauma exposure than their non-Latinx White counterparts with approximately 78% of Latinx youth experiencing one traumatic event by the time they are 18 years old. Despite this, the impact of trauma exposure on Latinx youth’s mental health needs is not well-established. This is largely because Latinx youth are vastly underrepresented in many of the large-scale, epidemiological studies on childhood trauma exposure. To address this gap in the literature, this study applied PRISMA protocol guidelines to systematically review the methodologies, participant characteristics, and findings from 22 studies examining the relation between Latinx youths’ trauma exposure and their mental health needs. Results revealed that while trauma exposure is common among Latinx youth, its association to Latinx youth’s mental health needs is not well understood. Indeed, while some studies found a positive association between Latinx youth’s trauma exposure and their mental health risk, other studies found no such relation. An examination of the included studies’ methodologies and participant characteristics revealed several limitations in the existing research that are likely contributing to these inconsistencies. Concrete recommendations for how future research can address these limitations are put forth. Taken together, the results of this study underscore the urgent need to understand the role that trauma exposure plays in contributing to and/or maintaining mental health disparities among Latinx youth.