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Intergenerational Trauma among Families in El Salvador: an Exploratory Study

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Abstract

Adverse childhood events have been shown to impact individuals through adulthood, particularly the impact on relationships. This study aimed to examine intergenerational trauma exposure among a sample of parents living in a semi-urban Salvadoran community and the relationship between child trauma exposure with maternal perceived discrimination, internal strengths and external support. Survey data was collected from 49 mothers residing in El Salvador. Bivariate analyses and multivariate linear regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between children’s exposure to adverse childhood events and parents’ exposure to adverse childhood events, while controlling for discrimination. The results of the regression analysis indicate that the maternal number of adverse childhood events and experience of discrimination as an adult explained 52.9% of the variance (R2 = 0.59, F(6, 43) = 10.18, p < .0001). The number of adverse childhood events was significantly predicted by maternal number of adverse events (B = 0.32, 95% CI = 0.17–0.48, p < .0001) and experience of discrimination as adults (B = 5.79, 95% CI = 3.51–8.07, p < .0001). Results suggest that parent exposure to adverse childhood events and parent experience with discrimination are related to the exposure to adverse childhood events of their children. Further research in this area is warranted to better understand the experiences of parents who have been exposed to childhood trauma and the day-to-day parenting challenges. Greater understanding of the impact of childhood trauma also encourages service providers to explore intergenerational interventions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Social Work Department, Seattle University, Casey 330-07, 901 12th Avenue, Seattle, WA, 98122, USA

    Anne S.J. Farina

  2. Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA

    Kristen Kremer

  3. School of Social Work, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO, USA

    Brandy Maynard & Michael Mancini

  4. Programa Velasco, Downers Grove, IL, USA

    Laura Hershberger & Annie Boyd-Ramirez

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  1. Anne S.J. Farina
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Correspondence to Anne S.J. Farina.

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Farina, A.S., Kremer, K., Maynard, B. et al. Intergenerational Trauma among Families in El Salvador: an Exploratory Study. Journ Child Adol Trauma 13, 515–525 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-020-00310-4

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