INTRODUCTION: Suicide is the third leading cause of death among US young adults, with significant racial/ethnic disparities related to the risk for suicide among Latine young adults. Despite the elevated risk for suicide, culturally relevant risk factors are not well-known. Intergenerational acculturative conflict (IAC) among Latine youth is a sociocultural factor associated with suicide ideation. METHOD: Although widely cited, the interpersonal theory of suicide (IPTS) lacks consistent support among Latine groups. The following cross-sectional study examined relationships between IAC categories (cultural preference, autonomy, and dating/staying out late), IPTS risk factors (i.e., thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness), and suicide ideation frequency among 376 Mexican descent college students sampled using participant pools and snowball sampling (73.7% female: Mage = 19.88). RESULTS: Mediation analyses supported the hypotheses that IPTS risk factors partially explained the links between IAC categories and suicide ideation frequency. CONCLUSIONS: These findings advance our understanding of how sociocultural constructs, such as IAC, influence the IPTS and future advancements in culturally responsive treatments for suicide.
OBJECTIVE: Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college-age students in the U.S., with disparities in suicide ideation and attempts among Latinas. The current study aims to examine if depression severity predicts suicide ideation and attempts and to examine if caregiver intergeneration acculturation conflict (IAC) moderates this link. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 246 Mexican-descent female college students. METHODS: Self-reported measures for depression severity, male and female caregiver IAC, and suicide ideation and attempts in the previous 12-months were ascertained. RESULTS: In our sample, 31.1% endorsed suicide ideation and 15.9% suicide attempts. Controlling for age, both male and female caregiver IAC moderated the relationship between depression severity and suicide ideation. A similar moderation pattern emerged for the suicide attempts outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding this exacerbating contextual factor can help inform prevention/intervention efforts targeting Mexican-descent college students who are experiencing depressive symptoms by focusing on decreasing IAC with both caregivers.Suicide is the second leading cause of death among emerging adults, defined as 18-29-year-olds,1 in the United States (U.S.) and is responsible for more deaths than any single major medical illness.2 Significant gender and ethnic/racial disparities have been well-documented and highlight that Latina emerging adults experience some of the highest rates of suicide ideation (SI) and suicide attempts (SA) and the greatest increases in SA over time, when compared to non-Latinx White, female emerging adults.3,4 In fact, recent research suggests that Latina college students report a 1.7% prevalence rate of suicide attempts compared to 1.2% among non-Latina White college students and data trends report a nearly double increase in the percent of suicide attempts from 2011 to 2015 (from 0.9% to 1.7%) for Latinas versus a minimal change (from 1.1% to 1.2%) among non-Latina White college students.4 Key research examining this disparity have cited that elevated depressive symptoms, which are also experienced at higher levels among Latinx groups in the U.S.,5 are strongly linked to SI and SA among Latinx college students and emerging adults.6,7 Developmentally, the highest risk period for the onset of SI and SA is during late adolescence or emerging adulthood8 and deaths due to suicide increase as adolescents move into emerging adulthood.2,9 Emerging adulthood is an even riskier developmental period for minoritized college students, like Latinx college students, because this period is marked by identity formation processes that are exacerbated by intercultural interactions on college campuses and cultural expectations at home.10 These data underscore the significance of detecting how unique contextual factors may interact with elevated depressive symptoms, and importantly, how these factors are associated with the increased suicide risk among Latinx college-age youth, as they represent a high-risk developmental and ethnic group.
OBJECTIVE: To test the acculturation gap hypothesis by examining mother-youth value discrepancies (both acculturative and enculturative) and their association with mother-youth acculturative conflict and youth mental health outcomes. METHOD: Participants were 273 Mexican descent college students attending a large, public, Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in West Texas (72% women). The participants' ages ranged 18-25 years (M = 19.33 years; SD = 1.54 years). RESULTS: Three models assessed the relationship between mother-youth value discrepancies and mental health outcomes (suicidal ideation, non-suicidal self-injury, and depressive symptoms) as mediated by mother-youth acculturative conflict. Consistently, Mexican heritage cultural values were related to mental health outcomes while American cultural values were not. CONCLUSIONS: The study found that increased mother-youth discrepancies on Mexican cultural values were associated with increased negative mental health outcomes. Our findings suggest that adopting or learning new mainstream American values does not substitute for the Mexican cultural values that protect against negative outcomes.
Acculturation , Mental Health , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Mexican Americans/psychology , Mothers , Students/psychology , Young Adult
