Trauma and latinx sexual- and gender-minority immigrants in the U.S.

Abstract

Due to their multiple minoritized identities, Latinx sexual- and gender-minority immigrants risk exposure to various forms of traumatic stressors at home and abroad that can result in post-traumatic stress disorder and other comorbid problems like depression. A much-needed review and synthesis of the latest research highlights important factors for practitioners and scholars to consider relevant to this vulnerable and under researched population. A data-driven conceptualization helps identify risk factors across different points in time such as violence and discrimination from communal and institutional sources as well as acculturative and minority stressors. Gender can heighten the risk for victimization. Response factors to consider include social support and coping, trauma-informed interventions, and access to culturally competent integrative care.

Introduction

People from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, and other Latin American countries experience health and mental health consequences associated with fleeing socio-political and economic instability as well as facing life-threatening conditions and pervasive xenophobic hostility [1], [2∗], [3]. Latinx immigrants are considered at risk for experiencing trauma and developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [4], and the emerging research over the past five years suggests that risk is magnified for those individuals who also identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, queer, or questioning (i.e., sexual-gender minority; SGM) [5].

In the year 2019 the United Nations Human Rights Office called for immediate legislative protections and clinical interventions focused on SGM immigrants and refugees due to their risk for being victimized physically and emotionally, including undergoing forced heterosexual marriages, conversion therapy, and even “corrective” sexual assault and rape [6]. The empirical literature on trauma as it pertains to racially-ethnically diverse SGM immigrants, however, remains limited with respect to an integrated theoretical conceptualization that identifies risk factors and pathways for intervention [5]. This is concerning when considering that Latinx SGM immigrants residing in the US are part of one of the largest and rapidly growing ethnically diverse populations in the nation [7]. The Williams Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles estimated almost a decade ago that more than 1 million Latinx SGM immigrants reside in the US [8]. It is important, therefore, to articulate the key dimensions of traumatology relevant to the experiences of Latinx SGM immigrants in order to further an integrated understanding of the available literature as well as promote new research and evidence-based clinical practices.

The proceeding sections provide an overview and synthesis of recent literature obtained through search engines like PsycInfo and MEDLINE. Conceptualization begins with a discussion of potential stress factors including acculturation, their impact on psycho-social functioning, and the role of socially supportive care. The paper concludes with a summary and illustration of overarching themes relevant to trauma among this under researched population.