Recognizing complex trauma in child welfare-affected mothers of colour

Abstract

Child welfare-affected mothers of colour live with the deleterious effects of complex trauma unrecognized by the child welfare system. Child welfare system instead focuses on mothers' more overt functional difficulties, facilitating a misalignment between mothers' felt needs and mandated services. Qualitative data from a mixed-methods study were used to explore the phenomenon of complex trauma in 20 urban-dwelling mothers using a combined interpretive phenomenological and directed content analysis. Mothers experienced chronic and compound exposure to traumatic events. Themes of interpersonal violations of trust and pervasive mistrust of others, revictimization, absence of appropriate mental health treatment, and maternal growth emerged. Implications for utilizing a trauma-informed approach for policy and practice are discussed.