ESTAMOS TRAUMADOS: THE EFFECT OF ANTI-IMMIGRANT SENTIMENT AND POLICIES ON THE MENTAL HEALTH OF MEXICAN IMMIGRANT FAMILIES : Estamos Traumados: The Effect of Anti-Immigrant Legislation

Historical trauma (HT) is cumulative emotional and psychological wounding over the lifespan and across generations, emanating from massive group trauma experiences; the historical trauma response (HTR) is the constellation of features in reaction to this trauma. The HTR often includes depression, self-destructive behavior, suicidal thoughts and gestures, anxiety, low self-esteem, anger, and difficulty recognizing and expressing emotions. It may include substance abuse, often an attempt to avoid painful feelings through self-medication. Historical unresolved grief is the associated affect that accompanies HTR; this grief may be considered fixated, impaired, delayed, and/or disenfranchised. This article will explain HT theory and the HTR, delineate the features of the HTR and its grounding in the literature, offer specific Native examples of HT and HTR, and will suggest ways to incorporate HT theory in treatment, research and evaluation. The article will conclude with implications for all massively traumatized populations.

Guided by a risk and resilience framework, the current study used cross-sectional data to examine the degree to which Latino adolescents' (N=274; M age=16.3; 47.1% female) self-esteem, ethnic identity, and cultural orientations mediated or moderated the relation between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms. Utilizing a multiple group comparison approach, path analyses indicated that higher levels of ethnic identity exploration and resolution significantly predicted higher levels of self-esteem for both boys and girls. Furthermore, self-esteem partially mediated the relation between perceived discrimination and adolescents' depressive symptoms. Additional analyses revealed that boys' cultural orientations moderated the relation between perceived discrimination and both self-esteem and depressive symptoms. Taken together, findings indicated that various aspects of the self (i.e. self-esteem, ethnic identity, cultural orientations) can protect and/or enhance the risks associated with discrimination.