Protective factors among Latino families involved with child welfare: A review of Spanish protective factor research on child maltreatment prevention in seven countries

•A protective factors approach is viable in work with Latino populations.•Family functioning is one of the most important protective factors for at-risk Latinos.•Social support is a strong protective factor among at-risk Latinos.•Cultural differences are observed in knowledge of parenting and child development.•Culturally-appropriate research is needed to expand our understanding of the PF approach.

This article analyzes the panorama of published Spanish-language literature addressing protective factors and their role in the prevention of child maltreatment in Latino families. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the use of protective factors in English-language literature has been compared to their counterparts the Strengthening Families (SF) approach and Protective Factors Survey (PFS) frames our research process, which used reviewed literature to identify the presence of protective factors in seven Spanish-speaking countries: Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Spain, Venezuela and the United States. Our findings shed light on the importance of family functioning in Spanish-language studies to date and validate the inclusion of family functioning as a protective factor in the PFS. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.