More News that pisses me off...
This article is long but it reads very easily:
NY Times
July 21, 2006
Editorial
Young Latinas and a Cry for Help
A recent series in the Spanish-language New York newspaper El
Diario/La Prensa sheds some light on a mostly overlooked national
phenomenon, the misunderstood and endangered young Latina, who
represents one of the fastest-growing segments of the American
population. Hispanic teenage girls attempt suicide more often than any
other group. They become mothers at younger ages. They tend not to
complete their education. They are plagued by rising drug use and
other social problems.
A federal study found that a startling one in six young Hispanic women
had attempted suicide, a rate roughly one and a half times as high as
that among non-Hispanic black and white teenage girls. If there was
any good news, it was that these young women usually survived. A
five-year study now in its second year in New York is being led by Dr.
Luis Zayas, a professor of social work and psychiatry at Washington
University in St. Louis, who says the self-destructive behavior seems
to affect Latinas of every origin and every region of the country.
El Diario tracked several young women and found that they faced
particularly acute social pressures, especially if their parents were
foreign-born. Dr. Zayas and other experts note that the suicide
attempts trend higher for Latinas who are the first generation born in
the United States.
Adolescent and teenage girls with families recently rooted in Latin
America are expected to adhere to old culture traditions, including
tending to other family members and putting themselves last.
Self-esteem issues are common among teens generally, but they appear
magnified for young women who cannot seem to fit in at home or away
from it.
About one-quarter of Latina teens drop out, a figure surpassed only by
Hispanic young men, one-third of whom do not complete high school.
Latinas, especially those in recently arrived families, often live in
poverty and without health insurance.
Another piece of the puzzle is how to address the complication of very
early, usually unmarried motherhood. Religious beliefs in Hispanic
families often limit sex education and rule out abortion. Federal
statistics show that about 24 percent of Latinas are mothers by the
age of 20 - three times the rate of non-Hispanic white teens.
Solving these problems will require more than research. What is needed
is a larger effort that includes educators, policymakers, families and
communities. Here's one more statistic: One in four women in the
United States will be Hispanic by the middle of the century. The time
to help is now.
Why does the wolrd set out to just piss me the fu**off?
NY Times
July 21, 2006
Editorial
Young Latinas and a Cry for Help
A recent series in the Spanish-language New York newspaper El
Diario/La Prensa sheds some light on a mostly overlooked national
phenomenon, the misunderstood and endangered young Latina, who
represents one of the fastest-growing segments of the American
population. Hispanic teenage girls attempt suicide more often than any
other group. They become mothers at younger ages. They tend not to
complete their education. They are plagued by rising drug use and
other social problems.
A federal study found that a startling one in six young Hispanic women
had attempted suicide, a rate roughly one and a half times as high as
that among non-Hispanic black and white teenage girls. If there was
any good news, it was that these young women usually survived. A
five-year study now in its second year in New York is being led by Dr.
Luis Zayas, a professor of social work and psychiatry at Washington
University in St. Louis, who says the self-destructive behavior seems
to affect Latinas of every origin and every region of the country.
El Diario tracked several young women and found that they faced
particularly acute social pressures, especially if their parents were
foreign-born. Dr. Zayas and other experts note that the suicide
attempts trend higher for Latinas who are the first generation born in
the United States.
Adolescent and teenage girls with families recently rooted in Latin
America are expected to adhere to old culture traditions, including
tending to other family members and putting themselves last.
Self-esteem issues are common among teens generally, but they appear
magnified for young women who cannot seem to fit in at home or away
from it.
About one-quarter of Latina teens drop out, a figure surpassed only by
Hispanic young men, one-third of whom do not complete high school.
Latinas, especially those in recently arrived families, often live in
poverty and without health insurance.
Another piece of the puzzle is how to address the complication of very
early, usually unmarried motherhood. Religious beliefs in Hispanic
families often limit sex education and rule out abortion. Federal
statistics show that about 24 percent of Latinas are mothers by the
age of 20 - three times the rate of non-Hispanic white teens.
Solving these problems will require more than research. What is needed
is a larger effort that includes educators, policymakers, families and
communities. Here's one more statistic: One in four women in the
United States will be Hispanic by the middle of the century. The time
to help is now.
Why does the wolrd set out to just piss me the fu**off?