Mental Health Services Use and Social Support Among Latinx Families with Adolescents Who Engage in Suicidal Behavior

ABSTRACT

Latinx communities experience a significant child mental health disparity. Research is needed to examine mental health services use and social support in Latinx adolescents, with particular attention to acculturative factors and youth who have high levels of clinical severity. The current study examined whether acculturation and enculturation, and related proxies, are associated with prior history of services use and social support in Latinx families with adolescents who had a recent suicidal crisis. Participants were 110 youths, recently admitted to psychiatric hospitalization, ages 12–17 years and their caregivers. Results indicated that approximately 20% of the overall sample did not access any formal mental health services (e.g. outpatient mental health care, primary care support, school staff support) before high acuity hospital care. First-generation status and higher caregiver enculturation were associated with a lower likelihood of formal mental health services use, even when controlling for clinical covariates. Adolescent preference for Spanish was associated with lower social support. Findings suggest that families with higher enculturation and first-generation immigrant families (both caregivers and youth born outside of the U.S.), in the context of severe clinical impairment, experience systemic and sociocultural barriers conducive to limited engagement with mental health support. Implications for improving the accessibility of mental health supports are reviewed.

Disclosure statement

Institutional review board (IRB) approval was obtained from the Lifespan health system IRB. All caregivers and youths provided informed consent and assent, respectively, prior to completing study measures.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

The research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities under Award Numbers K23 MH097772, 1R01MD013907, PI: Duarte-Velez, respectively. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.