Abstract
There is a need to develop culturally relevant psychological care informed by the experiences of clinicians working with Latinx youth and families. The present qualitative interview-based study explored the challenges Latinx adolescents with suicidal behaviors and their families confront from the perspective of mental health providers. Ten interviews were conducted with mental health clinicians from various clinical settings. An ecological and developmental theoretical framework was used to analyze the data. The five overarching themes identified were: 1) Acculturation and enculturation gap challenges between caregivers and adolescents, 2) Language and cultural gaps with the host society affecting families’ ability to navigate the educational and mental health service systems, 3) Contextual and mental health factors affecting the family, 4) Social factors affecting family life, and 5) Adolescent suicidal crisis and well-being. Results aligned with the gap-distress theory in which caregiver and adolescent differences in acculturation and enculturation increase cultural related conflicts between them subsequently augmenting suicide risk when combine with other factors. Authors posit that an assessment of acculturation and enculturation gaps and their possible impact on caregiver and adolescent communication and the wellbeing of adolescents is a critical part of the clinical formulation when working with this population. Other clinical and suicide prevention implications are also discussed, including addressing poverty and structural racism as suicide prevention strategies.
Key Take Away Points
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Suicidal behaviors among Latinx youth in the US are the result of interconnected factors at the individual, family, context, and social levels.
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Language and values/beliefs were the two identified proxies for acculturation and enculturation discussed as barriers/facilitators for the caregiver and adolescent relationship and between the family and society.
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An assessment of acculturation and enculturation gaps and their possible impact on caregiver and adolescent communication and the wellbeing of adolescents is a critical part of the clinical formulation when working with this population.
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Suicide prevention for Latinx youth is inevitably connected to the prevention of violence, poverty, racism, xenophobia, and discrimination, and the enhancement of equity of resources and education at schools, the community, and access to mental health services for both youth and their family.
Author Biography
Dr. Duarte-Velez (pronouns: she/her/ella) is an Associate Professor (Research) in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Bradley Hospital and Brown University. She is a licensed clinical psychologist who is the founder and clinical director of the Mi Gente Program, which is an evidence-based outpatient treatment program for Latinx youth with mood disorders, trauma, and suicidal behaviors. Her research has been focused on the development and tailoring of psychosocial interventions for diverse populations according to their needs and cultural values. She developed a culturally centered and affirmative CBT protocol, the Socio-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Suicidal Behaviors for Latinx youth. Dr. Jimenez-Colon (pronouns: she/her/ella) is an Assistant Professor (Research) in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Bradley Hospital and Brown University. She is a licensed clinical psychologist at the Mi Gente Program in Rhode Island. Her clinical and research work is focus on working with Latinx youth with suicidal behaviors and understanding transgenerational trauma on Latinx families. Dr. Victor Buitron (pronouns: he/him) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Florida International University. His clinical research is focused on youth suicide prevention with an emphasis on targeting interpersonal factors and underserved populations. Dr. Buitron is also the developer of a brief, bilingual intervention for subacute suicidal ideation and perceived burdensomeness among at-risk youth. Dr. Polanco-Frontera (pronouns: she/her/ella) is an Associate Professor at the School of Behavioral and Brain Science at Ponce Health Science University in Puerto Rico. She is a licensed clinical psychologist with a practice focus on suicidal and non-suicidal behavior, borderline personality disorder, emotional dysregulation and trauma. For seven years, she coordinated the Dialectical Behavioral Training Program of her university. Her research work focuses on suicide and mental health stigma towards families with adolescents who have engaged in suicidal behavior. Dr. Gomez (pronouns: she/her/ella) received her doctorate in counseling psychology from the University of Miami and completed her clinical and post-doctoral training at the Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University. She is the program director for community engagement at an NIMHD-funded center focused on the reduction of health disparities.
Acknowledgements
We want to thank the clinicians who participated in this study, the research staff who collaborated in the coding of the data, and those who provided support and advice in the process, particularly Dr. Anthony Spirito and Dr. Kate Guthrie, Director of the Qualitative Science and Methods Training Program. This study was supported by Grant K23-MH097772, NIMH Treatment for Latino/a Adolescents with Suicidal Behavior to Duarte-Velez, Yovanska. Victor Buitron is supported by the NIH FIRST award number U54CA267730, with funding support from the Office of the Director at NIH. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Recommended Citation
Y Duarte-Velez, G Jimenez-Colon, V Buitron, N Polanco-Frontera, J Gomez. (2023) "Clinician Perspectives on Challenges among Latinx Adolescents with Suicidal Behaviors and their Families," Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 14: Iss. 1, Article 3.DOI: https://doi.org/10.58464/2155-5834.1541
Available at: https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk/vol14/iss1/3
