Abstract
Latino girls (Latinas) experience disproportionate rates of emotional distress, including suicidal ideation, which may be indicative of inadequate coping abilities. Prevention of mental health problems, a U.S. public health priority, is particularly critical for Latina adolescents due to lack of access to mental health treatments. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of Project Wings, a 14-session stress management/coping intervention. Latinas in school (ages 15-21) met weekly for 2-hr with two bilingual experienced facilitators to participate in sharing circles, relaxation exercise, and skill building. Intervention participation and post-intervention focus group data were analyzed. Fall semester intervention (n = 10) occurred during school (72% attendance rate); spring semester intervention (n = 11) was after school (84% attendance rate). Focus group data confirmed acceptability. Latina adolescents will participate in a school-based, group-based stress management/coping intervention. The findings offer insights about intervention recruitment and retention that are specifically relevant to school nurses. Future research includes intervention testing using a randomized study design.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 42-52 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Journal of School Nursing |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 2010 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors thank the Latina girls who eagerly participated in this study and also the statistician (O. Gurvich), colleagues (K. Pajer, R. Sieving, S. Naughton), school coleader (K. Borntrager), and the study sites (El Colegio High School and LEAP Academy). This research is supported by a Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health Grant (# K12HD055887) from the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development administered by the Deborah E. Powell Center for Women’s Health and by a Center for Health Trajectory Research grant (Grant #P20 NR008992) from the National Institute of Nursing Research. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Nursing Research, or the National Institutes of Health.
Keywords
- Adolescent girls
- Coping
- Latina
- Mental health
- Prevention
- School-based intervention
