Title

Cultural Factors Affecting Suicide-Specific Grief in the Latinx Community: A Systematic Literature Review of Studies

Date of Award

8-2019

Document Type

Doctoral Research Paper

Degree Name

Psy.D.

Organizational Unit

Graduate School of Professional Psychology

First Advisor

Brieanna Kohrt

Second Advisor

Athena Baca-Chieza

Third Advisor

Artur Poczwardowski

Keywords

Suicide, Latinx, Grief, Religion, Familismo, Stigma

Abstract

Introduction. In 2017, suicide was the 9th leading cause of death for all ages of the Latinx population living in the United States (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). These statistics point to the number of individuals from the Latinx community left to grieve a death by suicide and the need to further understand suicide-specific grief in this community. The purpose of the present systematic literature review was to (1) identify the cultural factors affecting grief in Latinx individuals, (2) identify themes of suicide-specific grief, and then (3) describe the way in which the identified cultural factors may influence suicide-specific grief in the Latinx population residing within the United States. Method: A systematic literature review was conducted using three databases and search terms relevant to suicide-specific grief and the Latinx population. One hundred and sixty-seven studies were identified, of which 49 were included in the full review process following the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: Out of the 49 studies, 15 (30.6%) of them identified two Latinx cultural factors in the context of grief: familismo and religion. Forty-seven (96.0%) studies identified six themes of suicide-specific grief: stigma; emotional dysregulation; making sense of the death; sense of relief; posttraumatic growth; and social support. Conclusions: The two identified Latinx cultural factors, familismo and religion, affect suicide-specific grief in Latinx individuals, both in positive and negative manners. Limitations exist related to the studies’ sample size and composition. Future research should continue to explore the relationship between Latinx cultural factors and suicide-specific grief.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. Permanently suppressed.

Rights Holder

Raquel Meade

Provenance

Received from author

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

45 pgs

File Size

654 KB

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