(PS7-65) Gratitude and Neuroticism’s Prospective Effects on PTSD Symptoms and Resilience in Latinx Adolescents

Recent scholarship highlights high levels of trauma exposure and symptoms among Latinx immigrant youth, though this population also demonstrates significant resilience in coping with the adversities of migration and settling in a new country. For the purposes of identifying malleable and transdiagnostic risk and resilience factors, the current study sought to examine the prospective relations of gratitude and neuroticism at baseline with PTSD symptoms and resilience six months later. The sample consisted of recently immigrated Latinx youths (N = 112), Mage = 19.8 (SD = 2.1), who mostly identified as male = 59.8%. Path analysis was used to examine longitudinal relations. Gratitude and neuroticism at baseline were found to be associated with PTSD symptoms six months later, respectively, (β = -.21, p = .038, 95% CI [-.41, -.01]) and (β = .36, p = .002, 95% CI [.13, .58]). However, the relations between gratitude (β = .07, p = .52, 95% CI [-.15, .29]) and neuroticism (β = -.14, p = .27, 95% CI [-.39, .11]) at baseline with resilience six months later were small and not found to be statistically significant. The current study provides support for gratitude and neuroticism and risk and resilience factors of trauma in recently immigrated Latinx adolescents. These findings may provide the foundation for investigation of gratitude and transdiagnostic interventions in recently immigrated Latinx individuals.