Well-Being of Latina Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Assault Receiving Trauma-Informed and Culturally-Specific Services

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to examine the well-being of Latina survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault receiving services from community based, Latina-serving organizations. Despite the critical role that culturally-specific organizations play in supporting Latina survivors from healing, there is a gap in the academic literature base on the impact of these services on Latina survivors. Using a cross-sectional survey design, the current study attempts to fill this gap by exploring the influence of trauma-informed practices and culturally-specific work on outcomes for Latina survivors of intimate partner violence. Study participants included 175 Latinas from five Latina-serving organizations across the United States. Findings indicate that culturally-specific practice accounted for unique variation over and above trauma-informed practice in promoting well-being and trauma-informed outcomes among participants in this study. This study is an important contribution to bridging practice-based knowledge into the academic field by documenting the impact of trauma-informed and culturally-specific services on Latina survivors in the context of community based, Latina-serving organizations.