Julia L. Perilla

Culture and domestic violence: the ecology of abused latinas

This study examined the predictors of domestic violence within a sample of 60 immigrant Latinas, of whom 30 had sought assistance for abuse and 30 had sought other family services. Hypotheses were derived from several frameworks relevant to understanding abuse—intrapsychic (learned helplessness), interpersonal (family violence), and feminist theory. Findings related to the specific formulations were subsequently combined into a model of abuse in which the mutuality of communication within the couple mediates the effects of husband’s intoxication and environmental stressors on the occurrence/severity of abuse. The study points out the inadequacy of relying on any one existing theory and supports the idea of taking an ecological approach to the study of abuse in specific populations.

Stability and change in stress, resources, and psychological distress following natural disaster: Findings from hurricane Andrew

Abstract The stress, resource, and symptom levels of 241 residents of southern Dade County, Florida were assessed 6 and 30 months after Hurricane Andrew. Percentages meeting study criteria for depression and PTSD did not change over time. Whereas mean levels of intrusion and arousal decreased, depressive symptoms remained stable, and avoidance/numbing symptoms actually increased. Intrusion and arousal were associated more strongly with pre-disaster factors (gender, ethnicity) and within-disaster factors (injury, property loss) than with post-disaster factors (stress, resources), but the reverse was true for depression and avoidance. Changes over time in symptoms were largely explained by changes over time in stress and resources. The findings indicate that ongoing services are needed to supplement the crisis-oriented assistance typically offered to disaster victims.

Domestic Violence as a Human Rights Issue: The Case of Immigrant Latinos

Using the writings of the late social psychologist Ignacio Martín-Baró and other Latin American and Latino social scientists as a framework, this article examines the issue of domestic violence from a human rights perspective. As suggested by these writers, the antecedents, dynamics, and effects of domestic abuse are explored, bringing to bear the historical, philosophical, cultural, social, spiritual, and political realities of Latino immigrants in the United States. From this ecological perspective, universal and culture-specific elements of this phenomenon are considered. Finally, Freire’s idea of concientización (consciousness) is used to delineate levels of awareness and responsibility necessary to break the intergenerational transmission of domestic violence in this population.

Sex Differences in Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress: Does Culture Play a Role?

If gender differences in posttraumatic stress disorder follow from culturally-defined roles and rules, they should be greater in societies that foster traditional views of masculinity and femininity than in societies that adhere to these traditions less rigidly. Data were collected 6 months after Hurricanes Paulina (Acapulco; N = 200) and Andrew (Miami; White n = 135; Black n = 135). In regression analyses predicting scores on the Revised Civilian Mississippi Scale, Sex × Cultural Group interactions emerged for the total scale and for subscales of Intrusion, Avoidance, and Remorse. Only a sex main effect (women higher) emerged for Arousal. Overall, the results indicated that Mexican culture amplified, whereas African American culture attenuated, differences in the posttraumatic stress of male and female disaster victims.

Epidemiology of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in Mexico

Prevalence rates of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were estimated from a probability sample of 2,509 adults from 4 cities in Mexico. PTSD was assessed according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) criteria using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI; WHO, 1997). Lifetime prevalence of exposure and PTSD were 76% and 11.2%, respectively. Risk for PTSD was highest in Oaxaca (the poorest city), persons of lower socioeconomic status, and women. Conditional risk for PTSD was highest following sexual violence, but nonsexual violence and traumatic bereavement had greater overall impact because of their frequency. Of lifetime cases, 62% became chronic; only 42% received medical or professional care. The research demonstrates the importance of expanding the epidemiologic research base on trauma to include developing countries around the world.

The Revised Civilian Mississippi Scale for PTSD: Reliability, Validity, and Cross-Language Stability

Examined in two studies the psychometric properties of a revised 30-item version of the civilian form of the Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) developed by Keane, Caddell, and Taylor (1988). Study 1, whose sample was composed of 37 bilingual adults who had experienced a variety of traumatic events, was undertaken primarily to examine the linguistic equivalence of a Spanish translation of the scale. High cross-language stability was demonstrated, and both English and Spanish versions showed high internal consistency. Study 2, which used a sample of 404 victims of Hurricane Andrew, provided additional evidence of scale reliability and also showed that the scale correlates in meaningful ways with known traumatic stressors. Together the results indicate that the scale is applicable to different populations and events and constitutes a valid and reliable self-report, measure of PTSD.

Postdisaster stress in the United States and Mexico: a cross-cultural test of the multicriterion conceptual model of posttraumatic stress disorder.

Data on symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were collected 6 months after Hurricanes Paulina (N = 200; Mexico) and Andrew (non-Hispanic n = 270; United States) using the Revised Civilian Mississippi Scale. A 4-factor measurement model that represented the accepted multicriterion conceptualization of PTSD fit the data of the U.S. and Mexican samples equally well. The 4 factors of Intrusion, Avoidance, Numbing, and Arousal correlated significantly and equivalently with severity of trauma in each sample. A single construct explained much of the covariance of the symptom factors in each sample. However, modeling PTSD as a unidimensional construct masked differences between samples in symptom severity. With severity of trauma controlled, the Mexican sample was higher in Intrusion and Avoidance, whereas the U.S. sample was higher in Arousal. The results suggest that PTSD is a meaningful construct to study in Latin American societies.

Violence and PTSD in Mexico Gender and regional differences

ObjectiveWe examined the lifetime prevalence of violence in Mexico and how different characteristics of the violent event effect the probability of meeting criteria for lifetime post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).MethodWe interviewed a probability sample of 2,509 adults from 4 cities in Mexico (Oaxaca, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Mérida) using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI).ResultsLifetime prevalence of violence was 34%. Men reported more single-experience, recurrent, physical, adolescent, adulthood, and stranger violence; women more sexual, childhood, family, and intimate partner violence. Prevalence was generally higher in Guadalajara, though the impact was greater in Oaxaca compared to other cities. Of those exposed, 11.5% met DSM-IV criteria for PTSD. Probabilities were highest after sexual and intimate partner violence, higher for women than men, and higher in Oaxaca than other cities.ConclusionsIt is important to consider the characteristics and the context of violence in order to develop effective prevention and intervention programs to reduce the exposure to and impact of violence.

Ecological and Ethical Perspectives on Filial Responsibility: Implications for Primary Prevention with Immigrant Latino Adolescents

This article considers processes from an ecological-ethical viewpoint that may help explain the high rate of school failure and dropout of immigrant Latino adolescents. Drawing from research on filial responsibility and risk and protective processes in this population, a conceptual model is presented that accounts for both negative and positive developmental outcomes. For example, it is speculated that different stressors linked to immigration (e.g., poverty, discrimination) occasion a marked increase in filial responsibility (e.g., assuming the role of interpreter and liaison to the English speaking community, working to earn money for the family) that may compete with other sociocognitive tasks, such as schooling and peer involvement. Yet, Latino youths who perform major caregiving tasks in the family also appear to derive an increased sense of personal and interpersonal competence. The implications of the model for research and prevention programming are discussed.

Severity, timing, and duration of reactions to trauma in the population: an example from Mexico

Normative data describing acute reactions to trauma are few. Of 2509 Mexican adults interviewed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, 1241 met trauma exposure criteria for index events occurring more than 1 year previously. The modal response, describing 45%, was a reaction to trauma that was mild (present but below levels of posttraumatic stress disorder symptom criteria), immediate (within the first month), and transient (over within a year). Nonetheless, 29% experienced immediate and serious reactions. Of these, 44% had chronic posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Those whose reactions were serious and chronic differed in many ways from those whose reactions were serious but transient. They had more traumatic events during their lives, and their index events were more likely to have occurred in childhood and to have involved violence. They had more symptoms and functional impairment after the trauma and higher levels of depressive and somatic symptoms when data were collected. Psychiatrically significant reactions to trauma persist often enough to justify their detection and treatment. Persons in need of acute intervention can be identified on the basis of the nature and severity of the initial response as well as characteristics of the stressor.