Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Jun;41(3):330-41.
doi: 10.1111/j.1943-278X.2011.00032.x. Epub 2011 Apr 4.

Familism, family environment, and suicide attempts among Latina youth

Juan B Peña  1 , Jill A Kuhlberg, Luis H Zayas, Ana A Baumann, Lauren Gulbas, Carolina Hausmann-Stabile, Allyson P Nolle
Affiliations

Familism, family environment, and suicide attempts among Latina youth

Juan B Peña et al. Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2011 Jun.

Abstract

In this study, we examined the relationship between familism and family environment type as well as the relationship between family environment type and suicide attempts among Latina youth. Latina teen attempters (n = 109) and nonattempters (n = 107) were recruited from the New York City area. Latent class analysis revealed three family environment types: tight-knit, intermediate-knit, and loose-knit. Tight-knit families (high cohesion and low conflict) were significantly less likely to have teens who attempted suicide as compared with intermediate-knit families or loose-knit families. Moreover, familism increased the odds of being in a tight-knit family versus a loose-knit family and the odds of being in a tight-knit family versus a intermediate-knit. The results suggest that familism may protect against suicide behavior among Latinas via its influence on family environment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Results of latent class analysis for Family Environment Scale (FES): Standardized mean scores for FES cohesion and FES conflict subscales for tight-knit, intermediate-knit, and loose-knit families.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Aickin M, Gensler H. Adjusting for multiple testing when reporting research results: The bonferroni vs holm methods. American Journal of Public Health. 1996;86(5):726–728. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alegria M, Sribney W, Woo M, Torres M, Guarnaccia P. Looking beyond nativity: The relation of age of immigration, length of residence, and birth cohorts to the risk of onset of psychiatric disorders for latinos. Research in Human Development. 2007;4(1):19–47. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Asarnow JR. Suicidal ideation and attempts during middle childhood: Associations with perceived family stress and depression among child psychiatric inpatients. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology. 1992;21(1):35–40.
    1. Brent DA, Perper JA, Goldstein CE, Kolko DJ, Allan MJ, Allman CJ, Zelenak JP. Risk factors for adolescent suicide. A comparison of adolescent suicide victims with suicidal inpatients. Archives of General Psychiatry. 1988;45(6):581–588. - PubMed
    1. Canino G, Roberts RE. Suicidal behavior among latino youth. Suicide & Life Threatening Behavior. 2001;31:122–131. - PubMed