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Prof. Carolina Hausmann-Stabile on the Link Between Suicide and Low Wages

March 11, 2021

Carolina Hausmann-Stabile, an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research, was quoted in a New York Times opinion piece about the link between low wages and higher rates of suicide.

From the article:

"Lessening household financial stress could also bolster mental health within families. From 2005 to 2010, Carolina Hausmann-Stabile, an assistant professor of social work at Bryn Mawr College, interviewed girls 11 to 18 years old in New York City who were receiving mental health services after suicide attempts. Her work showed how girls from immigrant families were affected by financial stress and absent parents who worked more than one job."

“'The issue of inequality and poverty was something that eroded their family’s well-being in a manner that impacted directly the girls’ well-being and resulted in suicidal behaviors,' Dr. Hausmann-Stabile told me. Many of the girls she interviewed said they felt like a burden or that their futures were hopelessly limited to the minimum wage grind, even if they dreamed of bigger goals."

Hausmann-Stabile has more than a decade of experience working to improve Latino/a health and mental health across the U.S. and Latin America, with a focus on reducing suicidal behaviors among adolescent girls.

Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research