LATINAS AND DEPRESSION
In communicating with these first-generation Latinas, it was clear that family was incredibly important to them and their mothers. I have seen this in my own family and community. In a 2008 study of 6th- and 7th-grade inner-city Latino youths, Hugh F. Crean found that though research on Latino parent-child relationships is very limited, it does show that “Latino Americans attribute more importance to the family as both a source and recipient of emotional support than do non-Latinos.” He also found that mother-daughter conflicts were more intense than conflicts in other parent-child relationships. This contention put Latina girls at increased risk because they may lack important support resources. Research shows that adolescent Latinas have a higher suicide rate than any other ethnic and racial minority.
