Cultural Conflict

"You don't see the same stresses in Latino boys," Escutia said. "They don't have the same responsibilities at home and they can go out and play and compete in sports. They have an outlet. Girls do not come up and say they want to hurt themselves. But they are verbalizing that they don't believe they are worth anything. They don't think they can do anything right. And they think they don't have a future."

For Claudia Flores, 17, a Newport Harbor High School senior who has worked hard to be accepted into a solid university psychology department, lack of self-esteem is not the issue.

Claudia, who helps care for her two younger siblings, wants to earn her degree in child psychology at a university where she can live on campus. Her parents want her to attend UC Irvine so that she can live at home.

"My parents want me to stay home until I get married," says Claudia, who migrated to California from Mexico when she was 8 years old. "They want me to go to college so I can have a better life than they had. But they expect me to stay home. There's a lot of pressure. Sometimes I do feel depressed. If I go, they're going to think I don't care. If I stay, I feel it's going to hurt me."

At times, Roa has interfered in family squabbles like the one the Flores family is facing to help the parents understand what is best for the child.

"For a lot of these parents it's the fear of the unknown," Roa said. "I've told parents to arrange for child care or something so that the daughters can get involved in their schools and take a risk. A lot of times we have to educate the parents and the children."

Escutia also encourages Latina teenagers to get involved in social activities outside the home.

"A lot of these girls get stuck trying to survive in both worlds," Escutia said. "They don't have role models who can show them that it is achievable, that you can hold on to your culture and be successful in this country and this society."

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Times staff writer Sylvia Pagan Westphal contributed to this story.

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Teen Suicide

An average of 14 teens aged 15-19 commit suicide in Orange County each year.

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1979 17 1980 13 1981 25 1982 9 1983 16 1984 14 1985 20 1986 16 1987 13 1988 14 1989 12 1990 12 1991 13 1992 12 1993 12 1994 15 1995 13 1996 12 1997 7

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Source: Centers for Disease Control