Latina Adolescents: A Literature Review

The article references to data collected by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention which articulates that in the United States, Latinas have a high rate of suicidal ideation and attempts compared with other non-Hispanic groups. The data yields statistics about adolescents being at a twenty-one percent for suicide ideation and fourteen percent for suicide attempts. These numbers reflect data for Latina Adolescents between the age ten to twenty-four years of age in the United States. Among these statistics, suicide is remarked as the third leading cause of death within the same age bracket (ten to twenty-four y/o) mentioned above. The article references to numerous sources to evaluate the relationship of specific factors (i.e. family intervention,

peer involvement, etc.) to illustrate the various forms of influence such factors may have on Latina adolescents and suicide rates. According to a similar study quoted in the text, factors contributing to suicide rates among Latina adolescents greatly vary and can have sequential consequences if preventative measures are not in place to reduce the number of Latina adolescents going forward with suicide and/or contemplating this as an option.

The same study referenced above, sites factors such as; ‘language use at home’, which in part places barriers on Latina adolescences when attempting to express behavioral anxiety to family or relatives, ‘place of birth’, which examines where these youth come from and how they connect with other youth at an individual level for social acceptance and personal growth, and finally ‘citizenship’, which is largely confusing given the circumstances provided in the ambiguity of policies that alienate youth from seeking services and/or reaching out for support. The authors of ‘Latina Adolescent Suicide Ideations and Attempts: Associations with Connectedness to Parents, Peers, and Teachers’, Susan M. De Luca, PhD, Peter Wyman, PhD, and Keith Warren, PhD, analyze prior research relating to Latina adolescents experience similar challenges and the surrounding variables that shape their decision to engage in suicidal ideation and

attempts. The authors shift their attention to the examination of relationships between mother and daughter, father and daughter, and peer relationships to try to uncover rooted causes that are prevailing in the lives of suicidal Latina adolescents. As expressed in the text, “Latinos often use family members for emotional support, therefore identifying approaches that engage Latinas in school interventions while at the same time respecting cultural values emphasizing family support is imperative.” (De Lica, Wyman, and Warren, 2012) Much of the article’s focus highlighted the relationship between these individuals and established the importance of providing monetary support from the local, state, and federal government to prevent and reduce suicide rates and minimize the factors for this issue to aggrandize.