Latinas Attempting Suicide: When Cultures, Families, and Daughters CollideSince 1991, surveys conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have shown that Latina teenagers attempt suicide at a far higher rate than other American youth in the same age group; one in seven Latinas attempt suicide while one in ten black and white girls do. While these numbers came as a shock to the general public, many urban clinicians have long suspected this disparity without having the data to confirm the problem or draw attention to it. Here, in a compelling account of a troubling trend that draws on interviews conducted both with girls who attempted suicide and those who did not, Luis Zayas begins to unravel the mystery of why young Latinas attempt suicide in such great numbers. Beginning with a description of the U.S. Hispanic population and the many values, beliefs, norms, and child-rearing practices that Hispanic families share in common, Zayas goes on to look at the development of young Latinas, girls caught between two cultures, struggling to reconcile them. By drawing on developmental, cultural, and family psychology and acculturation and immigration theory and research, Zayas' in-depth research forms a conceptual basis for understanding Latina suicide attempts. He illustrates with the girls' own words, and those of their parents, how social, psychological, family, and cultural factors come together into a flashpoint. The result is a startling look at the nexus of influences that make Latina adolescence a particularly risky time. This book presents the anatomy of experiences before, during, and after suicide attempts and suggests new ways of understanding them. More importantly, it offers researchers and clinicians a model for understanding and working with young Latinas and their families in a compassionate, culturally sensitive manner. |
Other editions - View all
Latinas Attemping Suicide: When Cultures, Families, and Daughters Collide Luis H. Zayas Limited preview - 2013 |
Latinas Attemping Suicide: When Cultures, Families, and Daughters Collide Luis H. Zayas No preview available - 2013 |
Latinas Attempting Suicide: When Cultures, Families, and Daughters Collide Luis H. Zayas No preview available - 2011 |
Common terms and phrases
abuse acculturation adolescent adults affection American asked attempted suicide behaviors boys brother Caridad cause challenges child clinical communication cultural dating daughters depression described distress emotional environment ethnic example expectations experience expressed family members father feel felt females friends functioning girls growing higher Hispanic identity immigrant important individual influence interactions interviews Journal learned less levels lives look mean Mexican mother never nonattempters occurred origin parents person population practice present problems protect psychological Puerto Rican raised rates relationships reported respect response result risk rituals roles seen sense separate shared similar social sometimes stories stress suicide attempts talk teenagers tell therapy things told traditional understand United values wanted women young Latinas youth