Kanamori, M., Weissman, J., De La Rosa, M., Trepka, M. J., Rojas, P., Cano, M. A., … Unterberger, A. (2016). Latino Mother/Daughter Dyadic Attachment as a Mediator for Substance Use Disorder and Emotional Abuse. Journal of immigrant and minority health, 18(4), 896–903. doi:10.1007/s10903-015-0312-z

Several recent studies have found concrete evidence that Latina women experience emotional abuse at far higher levels than the general public. To date, no study has explicitly examined maternal emotional abuse among adult Latinas by their mothers. Previous research has mostly overlooked proof that this may contribute to the emotional abuse Latina women experience throughout their lifetime. Additionally, the relationship between substance use disorders and emotional abuse perpetrated by mothers with adult children deserves more research attention among Latinos. This study, therefore, focused on US- and foreign-born Latino mothers and daughters and the relationship between drug abuse, maternal emotional abuse, and mother/daughter attachment. Results revealed 7.1% of mothers and 24.1% of daughters abused drugs, and 19.5% of daughters were emotionally abused by their mothers. Mothers’ attachment to their daughters showed an indirect connection between mother’s drug abuse and mother emotionally abusing her adult daughter. Findings from this study may provide public health practitioners with a better understanding of the effects of drug abuse on Latino family structures and advise in the development of more culturally appropriate drug rehabilitation programs for Latinas.