Clinical Interventions to Reduce Suicidal Behaviors in Hispanic Adolescents: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Purpose: A significant portion of adolescents who engage in suicidal behaviors are of Hispanic origin, yet little is known regarding interventions to reduce suicidal behaviors among Hispanic adolescents. Through a culturally responsive framework, this study describes and systematically maps the existing research on interventions to treat suicidality among Hispanic adolescents. Method: Using Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review methodology, nine publications were selected for review from available peer-reviewed literature published between 2013 and 2017. Results: Eight interventions were identified. All were published in nonsocial work journals. Interventions were implemented in either mental health or after-school community settings and included a family focus. Discussion: The analysis revealed three themes: (1) There is scant research on this topic, (2) there is a void of social work scholarly literature regarding this issue, and (3) identified interventions generally include culturally responsive factors. Implications for social work research and practice are discussed.

Politics, Pandemics, and Trauma: Understanding and Addressing Latino Health Needs Through a Culturally-Informed Lens

“…Along this line, existing literature suggests the importance of organizations establishing safe zones in which immigrants are not at risk of immigration enforcement (123,124). Also reflective of existing literature, study findings also point to the role of cultural humility and linguistic competence when serving Latino clients (111,125).…”

“…For example, Chu et al (109) found a relationship between financial hardship and suicide risk to be significantly stronger among Latino adults, and especially males, than non-Latino Whites. Another contributing factor was potentially higher family conflict and reduced family cohesion during a period when most of society was being asked to isolate and was not easily able to travel domestically or internationally to visit loved ones (110,111). Also, religious engagement, which is a known source of Latino resilience (109), may have been reduced as faith centers moved to remote forms of engagement.…”

“…Provision of services within local communities, as well as offering extended hours, are also organizational approaches found to improve access to care (139)(140)(141). In addition to helping services to be available from a logistical standpoint, organizations can foster an environment in which providers have opportunities to learn about cultural responsiveness, sources of resilience, and best practices with Latino communities (111,125,129,140). Within this context, organizations might provide formal trainings, either in person or online, to increase knowledge, cultural competence, and cultural humility related to serving Latino communities.…”

Adolescent suicide prevention program recommendations from Latina immigrant mothers: “Starting with the word”.

“…Family involvement in suicide prevention has been shown to be effective in reducing suicide risk-related outcomes (Asarnow et al, 2017; Brent, 2015; Connell et al, 2016) and has been highlighted as an important priority in the development of culturally sensitive interventions for the Latino community (Goldston et al, 2008). However, Latino caregivers’ opinions about adolescent suicide and their inclusion in prevention efforts are scant: Most suicide research is primarily based on and informed by White European–American individuals with few culturally tailored prevention programs (Leong & Leach, 2010; Villarreal-Otálora et al, 2019). Such an omission may lead to the development of suicide prevention programs that are culturally inappropriate, overlooking the contextual factors that increase Latino adolescents’ vulnerability and their caregivers’ potential sources of wisdom and prevention intervention.…”

“…Research with diverse sets of caregiver samples suggests that exposure to suicide prevention techniques can increase the caregivers’ perceived self-efficacy to engage in life-saving behaviors (Czyz et al, 2018; Villarreal-Otálora, Gibbs, & Boyas, 2023). Yet, with the very few Latino-specific evidence-based suicide prevention programs in the United States (Villarreal-Otálora et al, 2019), Latino caregivers’ exposure to suicide prevention is limited.…”