Yanira’s Story

October 22, 2010

The numbers are shocking: one in seven Latinas in the U.S. will make an attempt to take her own life.

It’s not widely known or reported, but young Latinas attempt suicide at much higher rates than girls in other ethnic groups. Today on the program, we try to understand why. We have invited Dr. Luis Zayas to join us and to serve as our guide. Zayas teaches in Saint Louis, at both the School of Medicine at Washington University and at its School of Social Work, where he founded and directs a Center for Latino Family Research. It’s the only one of its kind in the nation: a social research center dedicated to Latino health, mental health, and family & community development in the U.S. and in Latin America.

But each story of a Latina teen suicide attempt is a deeply personal story. So, on today’s program we meet Yanira — a young Dominican-American who lives in Harlem and who has struggled with depression—and repression—for years. Yanira’s life is a contradiction: she’s forced to act like an adult, while being denied the permission to do things that many ordinary teenagers can do.

Reporter Laura Starecheski takes us inside her story.

Luis Zayas has been treating girls like Yanira for years, and he says that her situation is all too common. He believes that many suicide attempts by young Latinas are not necessarily born out of an actual desire for death; rather, it’s how these girls communicate their distress, their insufficient emotional well-being, the lack of open communication with their parents.

Zayas has been conducting a study of Latina girls, their families, and suicide. It’s groundbreaking research and has led him to say that he believes the root of the issue is the family members’ concept of sexuality, and the perceived strain on familial cohesion posed by the desire for teenage autonomy.

Listen to his extended interview with Maria.

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Resources for Girls & Families

We asked Dr. Zayas for his recommendations for mental health and social service resources for Latino families and Latina teens.

• Communlife — Life is Precious www.comunilife.org a program fouced on young Latinas
• National Institute of Mental Health — nimh.nih.gov general information on suicide behavior & other resources
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention — afsp.org – other prevention resources
• Center for Latino Family Research — clfr.wustl.edu more information on Dr. Zayas’ research

If you are thinking about harming yourself, please call 911 or go to an Emergency Room and ask for help.

Two examinations of Latino health in America were released recently. One, positive; the other, negative. The good news is that the life expectancy for Latinos is about 80 & 1/2 years old, higher than the average life expectancy for Caucasians or African Americans. The bad news: the rate of HIV infection among Latinos continues to rise. Latinos now account for 17% of new infections.

First, to find out more about the life expectancy figures, Maria talks to Elizabeth Arias, a demographer at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics and the author of the study.

Next, with more information on the rates of HIV/AIDS infection among Latinos–and what can be done to reduce them–we hear from Guillermo Chacon, President of the Latino Commission on AIDS in New York City.

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