Rates of suicide attempts among Hispanic adolescent females (one in five) are higher than for their non- Hispanic counterparts (one in ten), yet little is known about Hispanics'attempts, their antecedents, and why Hispanic girls are more likely than other girls to attempt suicide. Although theoretical and clinical formulations about the reasons for this phenomenon have appeared in the literature, these ideas have not been subjected to empirical scrutiny. Using qualitative methods supplemented by quantitative measures, the proposed project will examine the phenomenon using a conceptual framework that encompasses ecological-developmental systems theory. The study will (1) explore the phenomenology of the suicide attempts from the girls'perspective (e.g., antecedent distress, crisis events, subjective experience);(2) explore parents'understandings of their daughters'suicide attempts (including their hypotheses about preceding crisis events and daughters'motivations);and (3) examine the familial, developmental, and sociocultural experiences that distinguish adolescent Latina attempters and their parents from non-attempters and their parents. One hundred adolescent Latinas who have attempted suicide will be recruited to complete questionnaires. We will also interview parents to get multiple informant perspectives on the suicide attempts. To insure that the factors we explore and identify are indeed unique to attempters rather than simply representing aspects shared by most Hispanic girls and families, we will also interview a matched group of 100 Hispanic nonattempters and their parents. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews will be conducted to explore psychological, family and social experiences preceding suicide attempts;why the attempts become the chosen response;and how the attempts are understood or interpreted by the girls. Objective measures of the sociocultural and familial factors posited in the conceptual model will enrich the qualitative data. This emic, intra-ethnic approach can help explain why some Hispanic teenage girls attempt suicide and others do not, and shed light on the interaction of cultural factors with other factors believed to influence suicide attempts. Key research goals are to determine if, and how, the explanatory factors hypothesized in the literature play a role in the attempts, and to invite the emergence of factors not considered previously.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH070689-05
Application #
7568173
Study Section
Psychosocial Development, Risk and Prevention Study Section (PDRP)
Program Officer
Avenevoli, Shelli A
Project Start
2005-03-03
Project End
2011-02-28
Budget Start
2009-03-01
Budget End
2011-02-28
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$331,560
Indirect Cost
Name
Washington University
Department
Type
Schools of Social Work
DUNS #
068552207
City
Saint Louis
State
MO
Country
United States
Zip Code
63130
Hausmann-Stabile, Carolina; Gulbas, Lauren; Zayas, Luis H (2018) Treatment Narratives of Suicidal Latina Teens. Arch Suicide Res 22:165-172
Szlyk, Hannah S; Gulbas, Lauren; Zayas, Luis (2018) ""I Just Kept It to Myself"": The Shaping of Latina Suicidality Through Gendered Oppression, Silence, and Violence. Fam Process :
Gulbas, Lauren E; Zayas, Luis H (2015) Examining the interplay among family, culture, and latina teen suicidal behavior. Qual Health Res 25:689-99
Gulbas, Lauren E; Hausmann-Stabile, Carolina; De Luca, Susan M et al. (2015) An exploratory study of nonsuicidal self-injury and suicidal behaviors in adolescent Latinas. Am J Orthopsychiatry 85:302-14
Hausmann-Stabile, Carolina; Gulbas, Lauren; Zayas, Luis H (2013) Aspirations of Latina adolescent suicide attempters. Hisp J Behav Sci 35:390-406
Hausmann-Stabile, Carolina; Kuhlberg, Jill; Zayas, Luis H et al. (2012) Means, Intent, Lethality, Behaviors, and Psychiatric Diagnosis in Latina Adolescent Suicide Attempters. Prof Psychol Res Pr 43:241-248
Pena, Juan B; Matthieu, Monica M; Zayas, Luis H et al. (2012) Co-occurring risk behaviors among White, Black, and Hispanic US high school adolescents with suicide attempts requiring medical attention, 1999-2007: implications for future prevention initiatives. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 47:29-42
Nolle, Allyson P; Gulbas, Lauren; Kuhlberg, Jill A et al. (2012) Sacrifice for the sake of the family: expressions of familism by Latina teens in the context of suicide. Am J Orthopsychiatry 82:319-27
Zayas, Luis H; Gulbas, Lauren E (2012) Are suicide attempts by young Latinas a cultural idiom of distress? Transcult Psychiatry 49:718-34
Hausmann-Stabile, Carolina; Zayas, Luis H; Runes, Sandra et al. (2011) Ganando Confianza: Research Focus Groups with Immigrant Mexican Mothers. Educ Train Autism Dev Disabil 46:3-10

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