Familism and family environment among suicidal Latinas: Three family types

Abstract

This study 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 non-attempters (n=107) were recruited from the NYC 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 that attempted suicide as compared to intermediate-knit families or loose-knit families. Moreover, familism increased the odds of being in the tight-knit family vs. the loose-knit family and the odds of being in the tight-knit family vs. the intermediate-knit. Results suggest that familism may protect against suicide behavior among Latinas via its influence on family environment.