Why Do So Many Latina Teens Attempt Suicide? A Conceptual Model for Research.

Abstract

Rates of suicide attempts among adolescent Latinas have been reported to be higher than for their non-Hispanic counterparts. Yet researchers know very little about the attempts, their antecedents, and why the girls attempt suicide. Latina girls have been included in research on suicidal adolescents and typically show higher rates of attempts relative to similar psychopathology when compared with other young women. A few small studies have focused on Latinas, but none have explored why suicide attempt rates are higher. The authors constructed a conceptual model to provide a formulation of this phenomenon on the basis of a review of the literature on suicide attempts among Latinas and their clinical experience. This model can serve as a framework to guide research on the unique sociocultural processes present in Latina adolescent suicide attempts and may also benefit the work of clinicians.

Suicidal Behavior in Latinas: Explanatory Cultural Factors and Implications for Intervention

“…While the qualitative interview provides the in-depth subjective perspective, a quantitative questionnaire comprised of a variety of measures that assess family adaptability and cohesiveness, familism, acculturation, parental affection, mentoring, and support provides additional information about the suicidal behaviors. A more detailed description of our methodology, including the quantitative component, is provided by Zayas et al (2005). Altogether, these methods will lead to insights that might clarify the theoretical and clinical speculations that have been advanced.…”

“…Within the autonomy-relatedness dynamic, parental mentoring and the girl's sense of mutuality with her parents, especially with her mother, appear to play a notable part in the conditions that trigger suicidal behavior (Zayas et al, 2005;Zimmerman & Zayas, 1995). Razin et al (1991) and Zayas et al (2005) propose that immigrant parents' inability to effectively mentor their daughters to negotiate the combined effects of adolescent development and acculturative stress-due in large part to the fact that the parents did not experience these challenges and therefore do not have the knowledge to impart-reduces their capacity to provide reliable support, inspiration, care, and influence toward adaptive choices (Rhodes, Contreras, & Mangelsdorf, 1994).…”

“…Razin et al (1991) and Zayas et al (2005) propose that immigrant parents' inability to effectively mentor their daughters to negotiate the combined effects of adolescent development and acculturative stress-due in large part to the fact that the parents did not experience these challenges and therefore do not have the knowledge to impart-reduces their capacity to provide reliable support, inspiration, care, and influence toward adaptive choices (Rhodes, Contreras, & Mangelsdorf, 1994). The feelings, activities, and thoughts that are exchanged bidirectionally between parents and daughters, that have been defined as "mutuality" by Genero, Miller, Surrey, and Baldwin (1992), may thus be compromised by the tension stemming from development and acculturation.…”

“…A discussion of each of these forces in the initial sections of this paper sets the basis for considering future research and prevention and intervention programs. A conceptual model for research that incorporates the sociocultural and family environment, developmental processes, and individual psychology has been advanced by Zayas, Lester, Cabassa, and Fortuna (2005); however, the model does not discuss entry points for preventive programs or therapeutic interventions with suicidal Latina teenagers.…”

Associations between drug/alcohol use and emotional abuse: Who perpetrates emotional abuse against Latina women?

“…[10] Major conflicts are likely to arise between older Latino family members who value familismo-the expectation that family members will support and assist one another-and the younger family members who strive for the American virtues of individualism and autonomy. [11] Consequently, emotional abuse between mothers and daughters, both of whom are in somewhat vulnerable positions, could be prevalent. We suspect that mothers and daughters emotionally abuse one another.…”