Latina Adolescents' Help-Seeking Behaviors and Attitudes Regarding Suicide Compared to African American and Caucasian Peers

Background:

Latina adolescents have the highest rates of suicidal ideation and attempts compared to Caucasian and African American peers (CDC, 2008), yet the contributing factors are largely unknown.  Research has not focused on Latinas' perceived norms regarding seeking help for distress and suicidal concerns.  Previously, low help-seeking norms, including low perceived peer support for help-seeking, have been linked to risk for suicidal behavior. 

Traditional Latino culture emphasizes seeking emotional support within the family unit. We hypothesized that Latina adolescents, compared to other race/ethnic groups, would have lower perceived norms for help-seeking at school and lower expectations that adults outside of their family are sources of help for emotional distress.   

 

Methods:

Subjects were 9^th and 10^th grade female students from six economically diverse high schools in Cobb County, Georgia selected to be representative of their high schools by random selection of classrooms (n=2,011). Four scales assessed perceived norms: Help Seeking from Adults at School (personal and perceived peer norms for help-seeking when distressed) (α = 0.78; 4 items); Knowledge of Suicidal Behaviors and Help (expectations that adults in school help suicidal youth) (α = 0.75; 4 items); Rejecting Codes of Silence (engaging adults and overcoming unwillingness of suicidal peers to get help) (α = 0.68; 6 items); Sources of Strength Coping (perceived effectiveness when distressed of informal and formal resources including family and services) (α = 0.81; 9 items).  Scales used a 4-item Likert Scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree.  MANCOVA analyses, controlling for age, tested for race/ethnicity differences on each scales.  Contrast analysis allowed Latinas to be compared to African American and Caucasians.

Results:

Compared to Caucasians, Latinas reported lower help-seeking acceptance from adults at school, lower expectations that adults help suicidal youth in their school (p < 0.05), lower willingness to overcome suicidal friends' reluctance to get help from adults (p < 0.05), and less overall expectations that formal and informal supports help them during times of distress (p < 0.05).  Compared to African Americans, Latinas reported lower norms on Help-Seeking from Adults (p < 0.05) and Sources of Strength Coping (p < 0.05). 

Examining levels of expectations of help from different sources of support, Latinas reported lower expectations of getting help from formal services including counselors (M=2.60, SD=.928) and medical services (M=2.65, SD=.920), whereas they had higher expectations of getting help from family (M=3.40, SD=.754) and friends (M=3.52, SD=.680). 

 

Conclusions:

Latina's help-seeking norms for suicidal concerns about peers in addition to expectations for getting help from distress from formal and informal sources were significantly lower compared to their peers.  Although acculturation status was not assessed, the findings are consistent with the perspective that Latino cultural norms may reduce opportunities for going outside of family networks for emotional support, particularly for suicidal concerns.  Future research could profitably examine how these perceived norms influence help-seeking behaviors, particularly for suicidal ideation and behavior and how such knowledge can be incorporated into preventive interventions.