Dr. Joseph Sirven

Dr. Joseph Sirven

As a young Latino boy, I remember noticing a family friend who would mysteriously be missing from family functions for months at a time.  “Why is our friend not here?” I would ask my mother.

"We don’t talk about that. It’s our family secret,” she answered in Spanish. 

As a doctor, I think back to that conversation as I later learned that our family friend had severe depression. My mother’s response about our secret reminds me of the stigma of depression.

Sadly, this “secret” can be deadly. There’s been a noticeable rise in the rate of suicide attempts by Hispanic teen girls, far outpacing non-Hispanic whites or African American teen girls. First noticed in the seventies, and confirmed recently by several studies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of every five Hispanic teen girls attempted suicide in contrast to one out of every 10 black or white teens.

This alarming rate in suicide attempts cuts across all Hispanic groups regardless of one’s country of origin. Yet, no one knows why Latinas and not other young women of other ethnicities — or for that matter Latino boys — are likely to attempt suicide more than other groups. 

Researchers hypothesize that a clash of cultures at home versus outside the home may be responsible. For instance, Latina girls at home are pressured to adhere to more traditional Latina behavior that diverges when they go to school and are under the influence of their peers. Ultimately, a conflict over dating, sexual activity or other acts of personal autonomy leads to tension in the family that can trigger a suicide attempt. 

Reversing this trend starts by talking about it at home, at school, at church, with your doctor, everywhere. In other words, get help. Frequent and repeated discussions on these struggles and treating depression may stop these suicide attempts.

With all due respect to my mom, it’s time we let go of the family secret!

 Dr. Joseph Sirven is the chairman of neurology at the Mayo Clinic.