Impact of the Life is Precious™ Program on Academic Performance and School Functioning Among Latina Adolescents at Risk of Suicide

Abstract

This exploratory study examines the impact of Life is Precious™ (LIP), a treatment-adjacent afterschool program, on academic performance and school functioning among Latina adolescents at risk of suicide. Utilizing a quasi-experimental design, the study compared the outcomes of LIP participants with individuals receiving usual care (UC) over a 12-month period. Results included a statistically significant group-by-time interaction on academic performance, indicating that the LIP group's grades improved over time while the UC group's grades declined. Though LIP was not significantly associated with school functioning, the direction of the estimated impact of LIP was positive, with a medium effect size. Combined with prior research, these results highlight the potential benefits of culturally responsive, community-based interventions like LIP in addressing both educational and mental health needs among Latina adolescents at high risk of suicide. Further research with larger samples is needed to substantiate these findings and explore long-term outcomes.

Keywords

Latina adolescents suicide prevention academic performance school functioning community-based intervention life is precious mental health culturally responsive intervention

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Achenbach

T. M.

(1999). The Child Behavior Checklist and related instruments .

Aguirre Velasco

Cruz

I. S. S.

Billings

Jimenez

Rowe

(2020). What are the barriers, facilitators and interventions targeting help-seeking behaviours for common mental health problems in adolescents? A systematic review. BMC Psychiatry, 20(1), 293. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02659-0

Ayer

Colpe

L. J.

(2023). The key role of schools in youth suicide prevention. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 62(1), 19–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2022.06.022

Borel

Xie

Kapera

Mihalcea

Kahn

Messiah

S. E.

(2022). Long-term physical, mental and social health effects of COVID-19 in the pediatric population: A scoping review. World Journal of Pediatrics, 18(3), 149–159. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12519-022-00515-7

Branje

(2023). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent mental health across the world. Current Opinion in Psychology, 53, 101665. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101665

Center for Disease Control. (2023, April 6). Disparities in suicide | CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/disparities-in-suicide.html

Cohen

(1992). Statistical power analysis. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1(3), 98–101. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.ep10768783

Crisp

Nora

(2012). Hispanic student participation and success in developmental education. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED537724.pdf

Gameroff

M. J.

Wickramaratne

Weissman

M. M.

(2012). Testing the short and screener versions of the Social Adjustment Scale – Self-report (SAS-SR). International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 21(1), 52–65. https://doi.org/10.1002/mpr.358

10.

Garnett

M. F.

Curtin

S.C.

(2023). Suicide mortality in the United States, 2001–2021. NCHS Data Brief, no 464. National Center for Health Statistics. https://dx.doi

11.

Gunlicks-Stoessel

Mufson

Jekal

Turner

J. B.

(2010). The impact of perceived interpersonal functioning on treatment for adolescent depression: IPT-A versus treatment as usual in school-based health clinics. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 78(2), 260. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018935

12.

Hatton

Heath

M. A.

Gibb

G. S.

Coyne

Hudnall

Bledsoe

(2017). Secondary teachers’ perceptions of their role in suicide prevention and intervention. School Mental Health, 9(1), 97–116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-015-9173-9

13.

T. C.

Gifuni

A. J.

Gotlib

I. H.

(2022). Psychobiological risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors in adolescence: A consideration of the role of puberty. Molecular Psychiatry, 27(1), 606–623. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-021-01171-5

14.

Humensky

J. L.

Coronel

Gil

Mazzula

Lewis-Fernández

(2017). Life is precious: A community-based program to reduce suicidal behavior in Latina adolescents. Archives of Suicide Research, 21(4), 659–671. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2016.1242442

15.

Humensky

J. L.

Gil

Coronel

Cifre

Mazzula

Lewis-Fernández

(2013). Life is precious: Reducing suicidal behavior in Latinas. Ethnicity and Inequalities in Health and Social Care, 6(2–3), 54–61. https://doi.org/10.1108/EIHSC-10-2013-0027

16.

Jablonska

Östberg

Hjern

Lindberg

Rasmussen

Modin

(2014). School effects on risk of non-fatal suicidal behaviour: A national multilevel cohort study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 49(4), 609–618. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-013-0782-z

17.

Kidger

Heron

Leon

D. A.

Tilling

Lewis

Gunnell

(2015). Self-reported school experience as a predictor of self-harm during adolescence: A prospective cohort study in the south west of England (ALSPAC). Journal of Affective Disorders, 173, 163–169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2014.11.003

18.

Kosidou

Dalman

Fredlund

Lee

Galanti

Isacsson

Magnusson

(2014). School performance and the risk of suicide attempts in young adults: A longitudinal population-based study. Psychological Medicine, 44(6), 1235–1243. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291713001852

19.

Lineberry

Whitney

Noland

(2018). The role of school nurses, challenges, and reactions to delegation legislation: A qualitative approach. The Journal of School Nursing, 34(3), 222–231.

20.

Lui

J. H. L.

Brookman-Frazee

Vázquez

A. L.

Cox

J. R.

Innes-Gomberg

Taguchi

Pesanti

Lau

A. S.

(2021). Patterns of child mental health service utilization within a multiple EBP system of care. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 49(3), 506–520. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-021-01179-7

21.

Nock

M. K.

Green

J. G.

Hwang

McLaughlin

K. A.

Sampson

N. A.

Zaslavsky

A. M.

Kessler

R. C.

(2013). Prevalence, correlates, and treatment of lifetime suicidal behavior among adolescents: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication Adolescent Supplement. JAMA Psychiatry, 70(3), 300–310. https://doi.org/10.1001/2013.jamapsychiatry.55

22.

O’Connor

R. C.

Nock

M. K.

(2014). The psychology of suicidal behaviour. The Lancet Psychiatry, 1(1), 73–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(14)70222-6

23.

Piña-Watson

Lorenzo-Blanco

E. I.

Dornhecker

Martinez

A. J.

Nagoshi

J. L.

(2016). Moving away from a cultural deficit to a holistic perspective: Traditional gender role values, academic attitudes, and educational goals for Mexican descent adolescents. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63(3), 307–318. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000133

24.

Reynolds

W. M.

(1988). SIQ, Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire: Professional manual. Psychological Assessment Resources.

25.

Rodriguez

L. F.

(2013). The puedes approach: A paradigm for understanding and responding to the 21st century Latina/o dropout/pushout crisis in the US. Journal of Critical Thought and Praxis, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.31274/jctp-180810-13

26.

Santacrose

D. E.

Kia-Keating

Lucio

(2021). A systematic review of socioecological factors, community violence exposure, and disparities for Latinx youth. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 34(5), 1027–1044. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22733

27.

Smith

R. D.

(2015). Why Latino American community college students drop out after one semester. Walden University.

28.

Stanley

Labouliere

C. D.

Brown

G. K.

Green

K. L.

Galfalvy

H. C.

Finnerty

M. T.

Vasan

Cummings

A. K.

Wainberg

Carruthers

J. W.

Dixon

L. B.

(2021). Zero suicide implementation-effectiveness trial study protocol in outpatient behavioral health using the A-I-M suicide prevention model. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 100, 106224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cct.2020.106224

29.

Steare

Gutiérrez Muñoz

Sullivan

Lewis

(2023). The association between academic pressure and adolescent mental health problems: A systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders, 339, 302–317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.07.028

30.

Stephenson

(2021). Children and teens struggling with mental health during COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA Health Forum, 2(6), e211701. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.1701

31.

Suárez-Orozco

(2018). Education: The experience of Latino immigrant adolescents in the United States. In Bhabha

Kanics

Hernández

D,S.

(Eds.), Research handbook on child migration (pp. 397–415). Edward Elgar Publishing.

32.

Taggart

(2018). Latina/o students in K-12 schools: A synthesis of empirical research on factors influencing academic achievement. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 40(4), 448–471. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739986318793810

33.

Tuda

Stefancic

Lam

John

Sadaghiyani

Choo

Galfalvy

Coronel

Gil

Lewis-Fernández

(2023). Life is precious: A quasi-experimental study of a community-based program to prevent suicide among Latina adolescents in New York City. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 55(1), e13027. https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.13027

34.

Weersing

V. R.

Gonzalez

Hatch

Lynch

F. L.

(2022). Promoting racial/ethnic equity in psychosocial treatment outcomes for child and adolescent anxiety and depression. Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice, 4(3), 80–88. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.prcp.20210044

35.

Wilkins

N. J.

Krause

K. H.

Verlenden

J. V.

Szucs

L. E.

Ussery

E. N.

Allen

C. T.

Stinson

Michael

S. L.

Ethier

K. A.

(2023). School connectedness and risk behaviors and experiences among high school students—Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2021. MMWR Supplements, 72(Suppl 1 ), 13–21. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.su7201a2