(PS6-72) Self-Blame Mediates the Relationship Between Trauma Exposure and Depressive Symptoms Among Recently Arrived Asylum-Seeking Latinx Immigrants’

Findings on recently arrived asylum-seeking Latinx immigrants’ families reveal a high prevalence of trauma exposure, highlighting posttraumatic distress as a critical public health issue (Keller et al., 2017; Sangalang et al., 2019; Venta, 2019). These migrants’ families endure significant hardship due to the extreme violence in their home countries and exposure to various forms of trauma and migration-related loss (Garcini et al., 2019, 2017; Keller et al., 2017; Mercado et al., 2021). A recent study on Latin American adults migrating through Texas, found that 70% had experienced crime-related trauma, while 46% reported physical or sexual trauma before or during migration. Moreover, clinically significant posttraumatic distress was associated poorer self-reported health, decreased well-being, and impaired daily functioning (Mercado et al., 2021). Further, a study by Keller et al. (2017) revealed that 83% of adult immigrants in their sample fled the Northern Triangle region (i.e. Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador) due to violence. Among them, 32% met the criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 24% for depression, and 17% were diagnosed with both conditions (Keller et al., 2017). Moreover, prior literature indicates that traumatic events elevate the risk of both PTSD and depression (Wang et al., 2023). Trauma-related depression, which qualifies as major depressive disorder, can result from psychological trauma either directly or indirectly (Wang et al., 2023). The current study examined these two risk factors in relation to asylum-seeking Latinx adults’ mental health problems in a sample (n=379) obtained at the Texas southern border. Our model showed that trauma exposure directly increases depression, with higher exposure linked to greater depressive symptoms. Self-blame partially mediated this relationship—trauma exposure led to higher self-blame, which, in turn, increased depression. However, trauma exposure still had a direct effect on depression. The regression model predicting self-blame was significant, F(1, 377) = 33.06, p < .001, explaining 8.06% of the variance (R² = .0806). Trauma exposure significantly predicted self-blame (b = 0.0786, SE = 0.0137, t = 5.75, p < .001, 95% CI [0.0517, 0.1055]). The model predicting depressive symptoms was also significant, F(2, 376) = 54.74, p < .001, explaining 22.55% of the variance (R² = .2255). Both trauma exposure (b = 0.1129, SE = 0.0218, t = 5.18, p < .001, 95% CI [0.0700, 0.1558]) and self-blame (b = 0.5704, SE = 0.0787, t = 7.25, p < .001, 95% CI [0.4156, 0.7252]) significantly predicted depression. The direct effect of trauma exposure on depression remained significant after accounting for self-blame. A bootstrap analysis (5,000 resamples) confirmed a significant indirect effect of trauma exposure on depression via self-blame (b = 0.0448, BootSE = 0.0105, 95% CI [0.0258, 0.0669]), supporting partial mediation. These findings highlight self-blame as a key factor in the trauma-depression link, suggesting that interventions should focus on reducing self-blame among immigrants who have experienced trauma to mitigate depression.