Suicide in the United States has surged to the highest levels in nearly 30 years, with increases in every age group, particularly among women and with the exception of older adults. Approximately 1 in 25 teenagers in the United States has attempted suicide, and as many as 1 in 8 has thought about committing suicide. This problem is especially concerning among Latino adolescent girls, who have the highest suicide rates among all adolescent groups nationwide. The statistics reveal that in the United States, 15.6% of Latino adolescent girls have attempted suicide one or more times and up until recently, this problem had received scant attention in the media and in the medical field Nock et al. (JAMA Psychiatry 70(3):300–10, 2013). This chapter will review the recent epidemiological findings on Latino youth suicide, will examine the possible etiologies underlying this problem, and will discuss the currently available evidence-based treatments.
