An Exploratory Study of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury and Suicidal Behaviors in Adolescent Latinas

To date, there is little research to validate empirically differences between nonsuicidal self-injurious behavior (NSSI) and attempted suicide among Latina adolescents. Understanding the characteristics and contextual features of self-harmful behaviors among Latina teens is a critical public health and social justice matter given the disproportionate rates of attempted suicide and anticipated population growth of this vulnerable group. In this article, we draw on an ecodevelopmental model to focus attention on factors in the sociocultural environment that shape suicidal behaviors and NSSIs. Through analysis of qualitative interviews conducted with girls who used NSSI (n ! 18), attempted suicide (n ! 29), used NSSI and attempted suicide (n ! 8,) and had no reported lifetime history of self-harm (n ! 28), we describe the sociocultural factors that shaped psychosocial vulnerabilities and gave rise to decisions to use NSSI or attempt suicide. Our analysis revealed that adolescents who engaged in NSSI perceived their negative feelings as something that could be controlled through self-injurious acts, whereas powerlessness was a theme underlying the emotional states of girls who attempted suicide. When NSSI ceased to function as a mechanism for control, girls came to sudden decisions to attempt suicide. Most teens identified specific, and often multiple, situations that induced intense affective states and shaped decisions to inflict self-harm. Two situational experiences emerged as particularly salient and promising for subsequent studies on self-harmful behaviors among Latina adolescents: transnational stress and bullying. We describe each of these and offer suggestions for future research and practice

An Exploratory Study of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury and Suicidal Behaviors in Adolescent Latinas

To date, there is little research to validate empirically differences between nonsuicidal self-injurious behavior (NSSI) and attempted suicide among Latina adolescents. Understanding the characteristics and contextual features of self-harmful behaviors among Latina teens is a critical public health and social justice matter given the disproportionate rates of attempted suicide and anticipated population growth of this vulnerable group. In this article, we draw on an ecodevelopmental model to focus attention on factors in the sociocultural environment that shape suicidal behaviors and NSSIs. Through analysis of qualitative interviews conducted with girls who used NSSI (n ! 18), attempted suicide (n ! 29), used NSSI and attempted suicide (n ! 8,) and had no reported lifetime history of self-harm (n ! 28), we describe the sociocultural factors that shaped psychosocial vulnerabilities and gave rise to decisions to use NSSI or attempt suicide. Our analysis revealed that adolescents who engaged in NSSI perceived their negative feelings as something that could be controlled through self-injurious acts, whereas powerlessness was a theme underlying the emotional states of girls who attempted suicide. When NSSI ceased to function as a mechanism for control, girls came to sudden decisions to attempt suicide. Most teens identified specific, and often multiple, situations that induced intense affective states and shaped decisions to inflict self-harm. Two situational experiences emerged as particularly salient and promising for subsequent studies on self-harmful behaviors among Latina adolescents: transnational stress and bullying. We describe each of these and offer suggestions for future research and practice

Family relationships and Latina teen suicide attempts: Reciprocity, asymmetry, and detachment

Using qualitative data collected from adolescent Latinas and their parents, this article describes ways in which family relationships are organized within low-income Latino families (n = 24) with and without a daughter who attempted suicide. Based on a family-level analysis approach, we present a framework that categorizes relationships as reciprocal, asymmetrical, or detached. Clear differences are identified: Families of nonattempters primarily cluster in reciprocal families, whereas families with an adolescent suicide attempter exhibit characteristics of asymmetrical or detached families. Our results highlight the need for detailed clinical attention to family communication patterns, especially in Latino families. Clinicians may reduce the likelihood of an attempt or repeated attempts by raising mutual, reciprocal exchanges of words and support between parents and daughter

Family relationships and Latina teen suicide attempts: Reciprocity, asymmetry, and detachment

Using qualitative data collected from adolescent Latinas and their parents, this article describes ways in which family relationships are organized within low-income Latino families (n = 24) with and without a daughter who attempted suicide. Based on a family-level analysis approach, we present a framework that categorizes relationships as reciprocal, asymmetrical, or detached. Clear differences are identified: Families of nonattempters primarily cluster in reciprocal families, whereas families with an adolescent suicide attempter exhibit characteristics of asymmetrical or detached families. Our results highlight the need for detailed clinical attention to family communication patterns, especially in Latino families. Clinicians may reduce the likelihood of an attempt or repeated attempts by raising mutual, reciprocal exchanges of words and support between parents and daughter

System Dynamics of Cognitive Vulnerabilities and Family Support Among Latina Children and Adolescents

The paper describes an approach to developing a data-driven development of a feedback theory of cognitive vulnerabilities and family support focused on understanding the dynamics experienced among Latina children, adolescents, and families. Family support is understood to be a response to avoidant and maladaptive behaviors that may be characteristic of cognitive vulnerabilities commonly associated depression and suicidal ideation. A formal feedback theory is developed, appraised, and analyzed using a combination of secondary analysis of qualitative interviews (N = 30) and quantitative analysis using system dynamics modeling and simulation. Implications for prevention practice, treatment, and future research are discussed

Their needs are higher than what I can do : Moral distress in providers working with Latino immigrant families

Social service providers tasked with alleviating the problems of the most marginalized and vulnerable populations are at particular risk for work-related stress and subsequent burnout. This article aims to move beyond individualized understandings of provider burnout and render visible the structural barriers that limit providers\u27 capacity to authentically help their clients. Guided by the concept of moral distress, we examined the experiences of 17 service providers who deliver behavioral and mental health services to Latino immigrants in a metropolitan area in Texas. An applied thematic analysis of individual interviews collected in 2015 revealed providers\u27 frustration with the countless systemic issues and helplessness in their inability to make substantial changes in their clients\u27 lives. This emotional toll, in turn, created a cycle where providers\u27 capacity to envision authentic, systemic change became limited. Our findings suggest that social work needs to go beyond the recommendations for self-care to prevent provider burnout and to address the inherent paradoxes in service provision to oppressed and vulnerable groups. We urge a shift toward a social action model to show an authentic commitment to social justice and to empower both providers and the marginalized populations they serve

Because That\u27s the Culture : Providers\u27 Perspectives on the Mental Health of Latino Immigrant Youth

Immigrant youth experience a combination of stressors, such as isolation and discrimination, that put them at a greater risk for negative mental health outcomes. Relying on interviews with 24 service providers who work with Latino immigrant youth, this article examines how they construct and intervene in the worlds of immigrant youth to improve youth\u27s mental health outcomes. Inductive thematic analysis revealed providers\u27 reliance on cultural interpretations of the psychosocial circumstances facing immigrant youth. Providers alternated between drawing on discourses that reproduced stereotypes, assumptions, and biases, while simultaneously striving to transcend sociocultural differences to focus on the lived experiences of their clients. Although providers acknowledged the importance of structural barriers, such as poverty and discrimination, they bracketed these issues when recommending interventions. The article highlights that as cultural competence increasingly becomes part of social services, this professional discourse may distract providers\u27 attention from more relevant targets of intervention

Patterns of Distress, Precipitating Events, and Reflections on Suicide Attempts by Young Latinas

By most epidemiological accounts, young US Latinas attempt suicide more often than other youth. Little is known, however, about the circumstance and internal experiences of the attempts. To understand this phenomenon, we conducted thematic analyses of twenty-seven qualitative interviews with teenage Latinas (aged 11-19) living in New York City who had attempted suicide. Collected between July 2005 and July 2009, the interviews explored the emotional, cognitive and physical experiences of the attempts and the social situations in which they took place. Results show that the girls were divisible nearly equally into a group with a stated intent of death and a group that did not intend death. The pathways to the suicidal event consisted of a pattern of continuous, escalating stress (primarily at home) that created the emotionally combustible conditions for the attempt. A trigger event that either reminded them of past stress or revived feelings of that stress catalyzed the attempt. Guilt and remorse were common responses to the suicide attempts, and on reflection the girls demonstrated some broader perspectives. Results of the analysis clarify the sociocultural context of the suicide attempts, underscoring the cultural discontinuity experienced by adolescent Latinas, who struggle to reconcile traditional Hispanic gender socialization with their own insertion in a modern Western society

Sense of belonging and youth suicidal behaviors: What do communities and schools have to do with it?

Situating Thomas Joiner\u27s concept of belonging within an ecological perspective, this study examined the associations between school and community belonging and suicidal ideation and attempts among high school students. The study used data from the 2013 Texas Youth Risk Behavior Survey (N = 2,560). Results demonstrated that community belonging reduced the odds of youth suicidal behaviors. School bullying, feeling unsafe at school, and being threatened or injured at a school increased the odds of suicidal behaviors. Findings suggest that fostering safe and inclusive environments and strengthening youth\u27s experiences of school and community belonging may reduce suicidal behaviors in high school youth

Patterns of distress, precipitating events, and reflections on suicide attempts by young Latinas

By most epidemiological accounts, young US Latinas attempt suicide more often than other youth. Little is known, however, about the circumstance and internal experiences of the attempts. To understand this phenomenon, we conducted thematic analyses of twenty-seven qualitative interviews with teenage Latinas (aged 11-19) living in New York City who had attempted suicide. Collected between July 2005 and July 2009, the interviews explored the emotional, cognitive and physical experiences of the attempts and the social situations in which they took place. Results show that the girls were divisible nearly equally into a group with a stated intent of death and a group that did not intend death. The pathways to the suicidal event consisted of a pattern of continuous, escalating stress (primarily at home) that created the emotionally combustible conditions for the attempt. A trigger event that either reminded them of past stress or revived feelings of that stress catalyzed the attempt. Guilt and remorse were common responses to the suicide attempts, and on reflection the girls demonstrated some broader perspectives. Results of the analysis clarify the sociocultural context of the suicide attempts, underscoring the cultural discontinuity experienced by adolescent Latinas, who struggle to reconcile traditional Hispanic gender socialization with their own insertion in a modern Western society.Latinas/Hispanic females Adolescents Suicide attempts USA, culture, ethnicity