Cultural Values to Promote Trans-Generational Resilience Among Immigrant Families from Central America

Background and Purpose: Fleeing poverty and violence, and seeking safety and survival, increasing numbers of families have migrated to the U.S. from Central America. Long histories of war, violence, poverty, political and social instability tied to the United States’ policies and actions in the region, have contributed to traumatic experiences that effect generations of families. While research has begun to acknowledge the unique experiences of recent Central American migrant families, limited scholarship has explored the intergenerational transmission of strategies for resilience, survival, agency, and post-traumatic growth among migrant families from this region. New conceptual models are needed to capture the circumstances of families who have experienced forced migration from this region. The purpose of this study was to explore the processes by which trauma and resilience are transmitted intergenerationally among families from Central America in order to develop these conceptual models.

Methods: Researchers conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with sixteen Central American and Mexican mother-child dyads (n=32) to explore parent-child separation, reunification, and relationships in the context of migration. Through a data-driven process of memoing and systematic debriefing, themes of trans-generational trauma and resilience emerged during data collection. To explore the concepts underlying the trans-generational transmission trauma within this context, a subsample of mothers and youth from Central America (n=24; 75%) were selected for analysis. Anchored in constructivist grounded theory methods and guided by Sotero’s (2006) Conceptual Model of Historical Trauma and attachment theory, individual interviews were first processed through data-driven open and focused coding. Core categories reflecting unique trans-generational processes were identified through the use of conditional matrices, axial coding, memos, diagrams, analytical check-ins, constant and theoretical comparisons.

Results: Findings revealed three important concepts that influence the transmission of trauma and resilience intergenerationally among migrant families from Central America. The youth and mothers described the transmission of trauma and resilience as (1) multi-directional with impacts across generations, highlighting trans-generational effects. The dyads described experiencing (2) systemic traumatization in the form of oppressive social, political, legal, and economic systems that perpetuate traumatic stress and cause family separations. Finally, the desire to (3) salir adelante, or to get ahead was found to be both a process and a goal for mothers and youth, representing the transmission of cultural values that constitute an important form of resilience.

Conclusions and Implications: Results from this study elucidate the complex and intersecting processes that contribute to the transmission of trauma and resilience intergenerationally. Further, this study introduces the concept of cultural values, such as the desire to salir adelante, by which Central American immigrant families transmit family goals and build resilience in the face of adversity. The three core concepts uncovered by this study represent pathways through which trauma and resilience are transmitted and harnessed within Central American migrant families and communities. This new insight garnered is essential for practitioners, policy makers and researchers to understand the trans-generational transmission of trauma and resilience, the pervasive perpetuation of systemic traumatization, and the desire and efforts of families to promote resilience among their family systems and communities.