Resilience in Low-Income Filipino Mothers Exposed to Community Violence: Religiosity and Familism as Protective Factors.

Objective: This study examines the role of religiosity and familism values as moderators of the relation between past-year community violence exposure and psychological distress among low-income urban Filipino mothers. Method: Mothers (N = 116) of adolescents residing in three urban neighborhoods in the Philippines completed orally administered questionnaires measuring community violence exposure, religiosity, familism values, depressive symptoms, and anxiety. Results: A majority of the sample (83%) reported witnessing at least one instance of community violence, and about half (46%) reported being personally victimized at least once in the past year. After controlling for demographic variables, religiosity and familism significantly moderated the relation between community violence exposure and psychological distress, indicating their potential role as protective factors. Specifically, personal victimization and witnessing violence were associated with higher depressive symptoms at low and average levels of religiosity, but not at high levels of religiosity. In addition, personal victimization was associated with higher anxiety at low and average levels of religiosity and familism, but not at high levels of religiosity and familism. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the cultural significance of religious and family-oriented values in Filipino culture; these factors can be incorporated in health promotion and intervention efforts for low-income urban Filipino parents exposed to community violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]