Latino adolescents, an increasingly larger proportion of youth in the US, are at special risk for mental health problems, including depression and suicidal ideation. Little is known about the meaning of mental health stressors for Latino adolescents and their parents. We conducted a descriptive study to elicit Latino adolescents' and parents' perspectives regarding mental health stressors as a basis for future preventive interventions. Eight focus groups were conducted with 53 Latino participants, two per sub-group (boys, girls, mothers, fathers). Three categories of mental health stressors included discrimination, immigration, and familial disconnection. Findings support the need for collaborative interventions and multi-level strategies (individual, family, and community) to address stressors in Latino adolescents' experiences. KeywordsLatino; adolescent; parents; focus groups; mental health Latinos are the largest ethnic group in the US, and adolescents comprise a large proportion of the Latino population (Guzman, 2001). Latinos who are teens in 2008 will be the parents and grandparents to 25% of the U.S. population in 2050 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2004). Diverse and heterogeneous, the Latino population is comprised of U.S.-born and immigrant persons of varied generations. The majority of Latinos in the US have Mexican heritage, although numerous Latin American countries are represented in the US population (Bergman, 2003;Guzman;Marotta & Garcia, 2003).Latinos are also diverse in socioeconomic status, education level, and health insurance coverage rates (Granados, Puvvula, Berman, & Dowling, 2001;Guarnaccia et al., 2007;Livingston, Minushkin, & Cohn, 2008) but overall continue to be disproportionably at risk for poverty and lack of health insurance. Similar to other ethnic minority communities, the Latino population experiences disparities in health outcomes that are attributable to complex social, physical, and economic factors Gee, Ryan, Laflamme & Holt, 2006;Timmins, 2002). One area where there are significant disparities in health outcomes is in mental health problems experienced by Latino adolescents, including depression and suicidal ideation (Araujo & Borrell, 2006;Duarte-Velez & Bernal, 2007;Umana-Taylor & Updegraff, 2007).Corresponding author and reprint requests: Carolyn Garcia, 5-140 Weaver Densford Hall, 308 Harvard Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, 612-624-6179, Garcia@umn.edu. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptRes Nurs Health. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010 June 28. Latino Adolescent Mental HealthGlobally, 20% of adolescents have mental health problems or disorders, including depression. According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2008), depression will be the leading cause of disability for all age groups by 2020. In the US, among a Minnesota sample of high school age youth, significantly more 9 th grade Latino adolescent females (40%) reported experiencing depressive symptoms in the past month than males or any other grade (Department of Healt...

Latino girls (Latinas) experience disproportionate rates of emotional distress, including suicidal ideation, which may be indicative of inadequate coping abilities. Prevention of mental health problems, a U.S. public health priority, is particularly critical for Latina adolescents due to lack of access to mental health treatments. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of Project Wings, a 14-session stress management/coping intervention. Latinas in school (ages 15-21) met weekly for 2-hr with two bilingual experienced facilitators to participate in sharing circles, relaxation exercise, and skill building. Intervention participation and post-intervention focus group data were analyzed. Fall semester intervention (n = 10) occurred during school (72% attendance rate); spring semester intervention (n = 11) was after school (84% attendance rate). Focus group data confirmed acceptability. Latina adolescents will participate in a school-based, group-based stress management/coping intervention. The findings offer insights about intervention recruitment and retention that are specifically relevant to school nurses. Future research includes intervention testing using a randomized study design.Keywords adolescent girls; Latina; school-based intervention; mental health; coping; prevention In the United States, adolescents are demonstrating mental health problems that portend problematic trajectories into adulthood (Knopf, Park, & Mulye, 2008). By high school, nearly 40% of ninth-grade Latino females (Latinas) are reporting they have experienced depressive symptoms or suicidal ideations in the past year compared to 20% of non-Latino ninth-grade girls (Grunbaum et al., 2004;Garcia, Skay, Sieving, Naughton, & Bearinger, 2008). Latinas report more symptoms of emotional distress compared to their non-Latino female peers and to Latino males. These mental health problems have immediate and future consequences. In the short term, youth with depressive symptoms are at greater risk of suicidal ideation and social isolation, including high school dropout (Center for Mental Health in Schools, 2007). Latina high school students are twice as likely as their female peers in other racial and ethnic groups to drop out of high school, and up to 40% of Latino students, boys and girls, are not completing high school (Pew Hispanic Center, 2004 Leading adolescent health researchers have established guiding principles for intervention success. These are grounded in promoting healthy youth development and include being strength-based, competence-focused, and relationship-centered (Bernat & Resnick, 2006;Rodriguez & Morrobel, 2004). Using these principles, we developed Project Wings, a mental health promotion intervention to increase the coping repertoire available to Latina adolescents. The purpose of this article is to discuss the participant characteristics, feasibility, and acceptability of Project Wings, a school-based coping intervention for girls. MethodA pre and post intervention, single group design was used with ...

Intergenerational photovoice groups are promising for promoting health through the topic that is explored and through group dynamics that can foster healthy relationships and communication. To investigate the potential benefits of intergenerational photovoice projects, photovoice groups were conducted in urban Minnesota, United States, and in rural Morelos, Mexico, between 2009 and 2012 with Mexican-origin adults and their adolescent relatives. Seven photovoice groups of adult-adolescent dyads met for eight sessions and developed exhibits highlighting their views on health and migration and made policy recommendations, using messages conveyed through their words and photographs. Informal process evaluation and focus groups were used to elicit feedback about photovoice project participation. Photovoice project themes were descriptively analyzed. Focus group evaluation data were thematically summarized, and facilitator reflections were descriptively summarized to identify factors associated with intergenerational photovoice groups. Seventy-five participants were recruited. Photovoice themes represented effects of migration on health, family, and well-being. The following two evaluative themes were identified: (a) participant sentiments about the benefits of photovoice participation and (b) facilitator observations of intergenerational photovoice group benefits and challenges. Participants described opportunities to learn new things and barriers to healthy relationships that the project was eliminating by providing them with time to work together. Used in health promotion, photovoice is a valuable tool that contributes to understanding the complex underlying factors influencing behaviors and health.

Nurses employed in a variety of school settings often rely on group-format approaches to support the health and well-being of adolescent girls. The process of selecting an effective facilitator, and evaluating the impact of a facilitator on intervention process and outcomes, is rarely described. The purpose of this article was to synthesize the literature regarding facilitator knowledge, skills, and qualities to provide school-based researchers and practitioners with a framework for selecting and evaluating group facilitators. Literature was reviewed between Fall of 2008 and Spring of 2011. Findings were synthesized into categories that provide the organization for this article (why groups, why a facilitator, and the knowledge, skills, and qualities of an effective girls' group facilitator). Nurses need to carefully identify, select, and equip those who serve as facilitators because group successes, evidenced in the ways girls grow and support each other in growth, are the result of a successful, well-matched facilitator-group participant experience.