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Immigrants constitute a significant percentage of the total population living in the United States; however, there is a paucity of research unique to suicidality among immigrants. The present article examines the applicability of the three variables of the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior-acquired capability for suicide, sense of thwarted belongingness, and perceived burdensomeness-to conceptualize, assess, and treat suicidality among immigrants. Risk and protective factors and mechanisms are discussed in the context of 2 case studies and immigrant paradox. Clinical implications include assessment and treatment of immigrant-specific experiences. Obstacles to treatment and future research directions are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the social-ecological contexts of unauthorized immigrant families and their U.S.-born children, through examining how otherwise similarly low-income, urban, Latino immigrant families differ on the basis of the parents’ legal status and interactions with the immigration system. Drawing on social-ecological theory, variations based on parents’ legal vulnerability among exosystem-level experiences (e.g., parents’ occupational stress, discrimination experiences) and microsystem-level experiences (e.g., parents’ mental health, parenting stress) were explored. Structured interviews were conducted with 178 families with an immigrant parent from Mexico, Central America, and Dominican Republic, and a child (aged 7-10 years) born in the United States. Unauthorized parents reported statistically higher occupational stress, ethnicity-based discrimination, challenges learning English, immigration challenges, and legal status challenges, and lower use of social services, when compared with authorized parents. The groups did not differ on microsystem factors (e.g., parent mental health, and parenting, marital, and family stress). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]