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Research / Funded grants

2023 Focus Grant

A New Clinical Model for the Engagement of Latinx Youth with Suicidal Behavior and their Families in a Culturally Centered CBT Treatment

2 research findings from this AFSP-funded study.

Research finding · August 2026

Culturally-centered, family-based therapy can help recovery after a suicidal crisis for Latinx youth

Latinx adolescents in the United States have experienced concerning increases in suicide attempts, yet they remain underrepresented in treatment research and face persistent barriers to receiving accessible, high-quality, culturally relevant mental health care. Standard interventions may teach important coping skills without fully addressing the broader experiences shaping a young person’s distress, including language differences, discrimination, immigration and acculturation pressures, family expectations, and conflicts surrounding gender or sexual identity. These experiences can also create painful misunderstandings between adolescents and caregivers at precisely the moment when communication and connection are most needed. Researchers have therefore been developing treatments that combine evidence-based suicide prevention strategies with culturally responsive, identity-affirming, and family-centered support.

Building on the culturally centered treatment approach now being advanced through her AFSP-funded work, Dr. Yovanska Duarte-Vélez and colleagues conducted the first randomized clinical trial in the United States focused exclusively on Latinx adolescents with suicidal behaviors. The study enrolled 114 youth ages 12 to 17 following a suicidal crisis and assigned them to either Socio-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Suicidal Behavior or treatment as usual. Delivered primarily through intensive home-based services by bilingual, master’s-level counselors, the therapy combined cognitive and behavioral coping skills with work on adolescent identity, parenting, family communication, and cultural differences between youth and caregivers.

At six months, 14% of adolescents receiving the culturally centered therapy had experienced a suicide attempt, compared with approximately 25% of those receiving treatment as usual, representing about half the risk. They were also less likely to experience suicide-related emergency visits or hospitalizations and nonsuicidal self-injury. By 12 months, outcomes had improved in both groups and no longer differed significantly, suggesting that longer or continued support may be needed to sustain the intervention’s early advantage. Overall, the findings demonstrate that culturally and identity-informed care can be delivered successfully in community settings and may meaningfully jumpstart early gains in recovery for Latinx youth and families following a suicidal crisis.

Citation: Yovanska Duarte-Vélez, Gisela Jimenez-Colon, Lucas Nocera, Judelysse Gomez, Julio Tavarez, Richard N. Jones, Deidre Donaldson, Michelle Aiello, Andrea Torres Lopez, Irene Sanchez & Anthony Spirito (07 Jul 2026): Randomized Controlled Trial: Behavioral Outcomes of Socio-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Suicidal Behaviors in Latinx Adolescents, Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2026.2687880

This finding comes from an AFSP-funded study — see the grant below ↓

Research finding · June 2026

Culturally responsive family care may reduce suicide risk in Latinx youth

Latinx and Hispanic youth in the United States may face suicide risk within a broader context of cultural transition, family stress, and uneven access to support. For immigrant families, adapting to life in a new country can involve learning new systems, navigating language barriers, managing financial strain, and responding to discrimination or anti-immigrant stress. At the same time, youth and caregivers may adapt to U.S. culture at different rates, creating “acculturation gaps” in how they understand independence, family expectations, communication, and identity. During adolescence, when young people are already working to define who they are and where they belong, these gaps can create painful misunderstandings between youth and caregivers. Helping families recognize and talk through these differences may be an important part of supporting connection, reducing distress, and responding to suicide risk after a crisis.

Dr. Yovanska Duarté-Vélez used data from her AFSP-funded work to describe how culturally responsive interventions can help address suicide risk among Latinx and Hispanic youth and their families following a suicidal crisis. Drawing from the Socio-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Suicidal Behaviors (SCBT-SB) framework, Dr. Duarté-Vélez highlighted how clinicians can support youth and caregivers in understanding the role of acculturation, cultural identity, and family communication in shaping emotional distress. She described how acculturation conflicts can contribute to disconnection and intensify suicide risk when left unaddressed. Through a clinical case example, Dr. Duarté-Vélez illustrated how helping both youth and caregivers better understand each other’s lived experiences, fears, and cultural perspectives can strengthen communication, empathy, and emotional connection within the family. She also emphasized the importance of maintaining supportive ties to cultural traditions and community resources as protective factors. Overall, her work highlights how culturally informed, family-centered approaches may help reduce suicide risk by addressing the broader social and cultural experiences shaping youth mental health.

Citation: Duarté‐Vélez, Y., Jiménez‐Colon, G., & Aiello, M. (2025). Bridging acculturation gaps in Latinx and Hispanic families after a youth's suicidal crisis. The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter, 41(11), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbl.30907

This finding comes from an AFSP-funded study — see the grant below ↓

The grant behind this work · 2023 Focus Grant

A New Clinical Model for the Engagement of Latinx Youth with Suicidal Behavior and their Families in a Culturally Centered CBT Treatment

Yovanska Duarté-Vélez, PhD

Yovanska Duarte-Velez, PhD

Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital

Amount awarded
$1,500,000 Focus area
Clinical Treatment

Inside the Research

This study will test a model of providing treatment to Latinx/Hispanic youth who experience suicidal thoughts and behavior, and their caregivers. Affirmative and culturally relevant treatment will be provided to all youth, and half of the families will be assigned to the additional support of a community health worker (CHW). Youth symptoms and family engagement to treatment will be followed for nine months. The potential benefit of adding the CHW intervention will be assessed.

Full scientific abstract

The objective of this proposal is to test a New Clinical Model to engage Latinx/Hispanic (L/H) youth and their caregivers in a culturally centered, evidence-based treatment for suicidal behaviors (SB). The Socio-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Suicidal Behavior (SCBT-SB) is an affirmative and culturally relevant treatment with empirical evidence supporting its use for L/H youth with suicidality. The New Clinical Model consists of the addition of community health workers (CHWs) to the SCBT-SB. CHWs are trusted members of their communities who provide education and connection to resources to L/H families in their native language. A community based participatory research approach is proposed and the Socio-Cultural Framework for Health Service Disparities will be the theoretical model used. The target population (n=150) will be L/H youth ages 12 to 18 living at home experiencing depressive symptoms with suicidal ideation (SI), SI, and those having made a suicide attempt or seen in the Emergency Department because they were suicidal within the three months prior to enrollment. Adolescents and their families will be randomized to SCBT-SB, with or without a CHW. We will not only test the effects of an intervention on clinical outcomes but also interview families and consult with stakeholders about the usefulness of having CHWs as providers. The following aims are proposed: Aim 1: To compare the effectiveness of the SCBT-SB + CHW condition (New Clinical Model) versus SCBT-SB only on clinical outcomes in a sample of adolescents at suicidal risk. Hypothesis 1. SCBT+CHW condition will show better treatment effects on suicidal ideation compared to the SCBT-SB only condition at 6- and 9-months follow-up. Hypothesis 2. SCBT+CHW condition will show better treatment effects on depressive symptoms compared to the SCBT-SB only condition at 6- and 9-months follow-up. Hypothesis 3. SCBT+CHW condition will show better treatment effects on suicide attempts and Emergency Department visits for suicidality compared to the SCBT-SB only condition at 6- and 9-months follow-up. Aim 2: Evaluate motivation for treatment and treatment engagement as the means by which we see improvement in clinical outcomes. The CHW intervention will address some of the social determinants of mental health in L/H youth families. By addressing social determinants of mental health, it is expected that motivation for and engagement in treatment will improve and influence clinical outcomes. Hypothesis 4. Change in motivation for treatment and treatment engagement will be directly related to treatment outcomes, regardless of condition, but stronger in the SCBT-SB+CHW condition. Aim 3: Assess the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of the New Clinical Model as well as its potential for more wide scale implementation in the future. A qualitative approach will be used to address this aim. Qualitative data will be gathered at three different levels: patients, providers, and stakeholders. The successful completion of this study has the potential of reducing service disparities among L/H youth with suicidality. The next step would be to implement the New Model in other community organizations. As such, it addresses the AFSP goal to, "Accelerate translation of research findings into real world suicide prevention solutions."

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