The youth survey recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that when it comes to the rates of teenage suicide attempts, young Latinas continue to outpace girls and boys of other ethnic or racial groups in the U.S.
Nearly 10 years ago, news stories told of this mostly overlooked national phenomenon among a misunderstood and endangered group but one of the fastest-growing segments of the American population. And major city newspaper editorials called for more than research. They called for action.
We need action now more than ever. But more than that, we need sustained action. This is not an inconsequential issue. After all, by 2050, one in four women in the U.S. will be Hispanic.
In 2015, Latinas in high schools across the country had rates of suicide attempts of 15.1 percent compared with African American and non-Hispanic white girls whose rates were 10.2 percent and 9.8 percent, respectively. We know, too, that Latinas are also more likely to become young mothers, drop out of school and have other social problems.
The numbers for Texas are equally as bad. In Texas, girls attempted suicide at rates of 13.7 percent for Latinas, 10.2 percent for Blacks, and 9.5 percent for whites in 2013, the most recent year data is available.
When the CDC releases its survey every two years, there is some media attention. But within weeks, the story goes stale. No commissions are formed. No infusion of research dollars occurs. No celebrity or organization takes the topic as a cause to be championed through schools or social media, in Spanish or English. It’s a problem I’ve studied since the 1980s, and during the past 30 years the pattern has remained the same.
This needs to change, and change now.
[For more of this story, written by Luis Zayas, go to http://news.utexas.edu/2016/08...pts-in-young-latinas]
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