Rates of completed suicide have grown commensurately within the Latine/Hispanic population in the United States (U.S.). Latine university students are at elevated risk for mental health crises given academic expectations compounded by additional pressures of navigating marginalization in the U.S., including acculturative stress and discrimination. Despite these concerns, Latine students are not likely to seek out help when experiencing mental health concerns. The newly implemented 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline may address this gap by providing free, confidential, and 24/7 support. Utilizing the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPTS; Van Orden et al., 2010), this study assessed the extent to which suicide risk is related to help-seeking intentions among Latine and Hispanic undergraduate students, as well as students’ intentions to use the 988 Lifeline ( N = 188). Results demonstrated that although 33.5% of participants met clinical cutoff criteria suicide risk, engagement with and knowledge of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline was low. Both thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness were negatively associated with seeking out help from both formal and informal sources yet positively associated with not seeking any support. These results indicate that sociopsychological processes may affect help-seeking for suicidality among Latine students. Implications for intervention are addressed.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are robust risk factors for alcohol and drug use problems, with documented effects in Latino populations across both family- and community-level adversities. Yet research on ACEs has been limited by three methodological constraints: a lack of inclusion of racial/ethnic diverse participants, including Latinos; a large focus on family-level ACEs (e.g., maltreatment, household dysfunction) that typically overlooks community-level ACEs (e.g., community violence, discrimination); and a reliance on cumulative risk scores that obscure the impact of specific adversity patterns. To address these gaps, this study sought to identify latent patterns of family- and community-level ACEs and their distinct associations with alcohol and drug misuse among Latino/Hispanic university students in the United States. Latent class analysis (LCA) of data from N = 2,865 participants identified four distinct ACE classes: Low Adversity, Household Dysfunction, Polyvictimization, and High Adversity. While U.S.-born status and female identity were associated with the High Adversity and Household Dysfunction classes, sexual minority identity was the only demographic characteristic associated with increased risk of membership across all three ACE classes: Household Dysfunction (RRR = 1.37), Polyvictimization (RRR = 2.81), and High Adversity (RRR = 5.29). Regression models revealed unique associations. Those in the High Adversity ( OR = 1.80) and Polyvictimization ( OR = 1.78) classes had higher odds of hazardous drinking. Household Dysfunction was most strongly linked to low-risk drug use (RRR = 2.33), while Polyvictimization conferred the highest risk for problematic drug use (RRR = 6.46). These findings suggest that a person-centered analysis of expanded ACEs is critical for revealing specific risk pathways and developing targeted clinical screening and public health interventions.
Although Puerto Rican society has long been shaped by the heritage of Spanish and United States (U.S.) colonization, current research has started to examine how racism and colorism interact to create and maintain health inequalities throughout the archipelago. However, this body of work remains theoretically fragmented and methodologically inconsistent, limiting its ability to inform public health practices. To address this gap, this article presents a systematic review of peer-reviewed studies examining colorism, racism, and health outcomes among Puerto Ricans residing in the archipelago. The publications were identified through searches in three different databases (i.e., CINAHL, MEDLINE, and PubMed) following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The findings highlight the underutilization of decolonial and community-based frameworks and the need for more nuanced, culturally grounded measures of racial classification and skin tone. In this article we present arguments for a shift toward intersectional, participatory, and longitudinal research designs that center the experiences of the population of African descent and challenge U.S.-centric racial paradigms. By mapping the current landscape and its limitations, this work contributes to a more equitable and contextually relevant research agenda on racialization, color, and health in Puerto Rico. The conclusion calls for a paradigm shift in public health research and practice—one that centers the experiences of the population of African descent, community-based knowledge, and structural transformation.
As the Latine population expands in the United States, understanding culturally rooted values such as simpat & iacute;a-which emphasizes interpersonal harmony-becomes increasingly important. Although some definitions of simpat & iacute;a have included empathy-related constructs (i.e., empathy, perspective taking, empathic concern), empirical research has yet to examine these associations directly. This study explored relations between simpat & iacute;a and empathy-related constructs using self-report measures in a sample of 198 college students, identifying as 56 Mexican nationals, 41 Latine Americans, or 101 non-Latine Americans. Mexican participants reported higher endorsement of simpat & iacute;a than non-Latine participants, whereas Latine Americans did not differ significantly. Perspective taking was positively associated with simpat & iacute;a, empathic concern showed no unique association, and personal distress was unexpectedly positively associated-highlighting the need for further exploration of emotional processes underlying culturally valued social behaviors.
The typically hidden institutional identity of Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) results in students often being unaware of an institution’s HSI status. The current study used a mixed methods approach to examine student perceptions of an institution’s HSI status and how institutional identity and its framing impacts student sense of belonging and serving. In alignment with previous research, the vast majority of participants were unaware of the institution’s HSI status prior to participating in this study. Additionally, there were mixed opinions on institutional support, culture, and sense of belonging. Participants reported numerous positive aspects including experiencing a welcoming campus with many opportunities to enhance sense of belonging as well as areas that need improvement at the institution level. More specifically, three major areas emerged that participants believe need improvement: student success metrics, student success services, and campus climate. We recommend using a culturally sustaining lens to conduct a thorough analysis of communication, accessibility to services, and institutional identity. This study highlights the importance of consistently amplifying student voices at HSIs.
