Washington University Expert Creates Model to Study High Rate of U.S.-born Latina Teen Suicide Attempts
ST. LOUIS
In recent years, one in five U.S. Latina teens attempted suicide. Though this rate is startlingly higher than their non-Hispanic peers, “efforts to understand the phenomenon have been hampered by a dearth of solid statistics and research,” says Dr. Luis H. Zayas, professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis.
“We have developed a new research model that will help us to understand what is really behind those statistics,” says Zayas, an expert on mental health issues in the Latino community with a background in developmental psychology.
According to Zayas, traditional gender roles, ethnic identity and adolescent-parental conflict seem to converge in a Latina teen’s suicide attempt. Girls are expected, in traditional Latino culture, to control their anger and to show their obligation to their families and parents, while struggling with the same developmental issues that other adolescents deal with, such as dating, sexuality, autonomy and peer-group pressure.
“Other studies have shown that suicide rates are higher among Latinos in the U.S. than in their countries of origin and that the process of coming in contact with American culture, or acculturation, may be related to the higher risk,” he says.
“However, how acculturation and family relationships influence adolescent Hispanic girls’ suicide attempts remains unclear,” Zayas says. “One possibility is that the stress of acculturation may be lessened or heightened by parents’ flexibility or rigidity in their interactions with the girl.”
