Study Reveals Significant Increase in Suicides Among Black Teens Since 2003
Researchers with the Center for Suicide Prevention and Research have found an alarming trend related to youth suicides among black children, finding there has been a significant increase in suicides among teens ages 15 to 17 from 2003 to 2017.
Black teen girls are the most at risk
Dr. Arielle Sheftall, the lead author of the study which was published recently in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, said that the annual percentage increase was much higher among black girls, who were about twice as likely to die by suicide as black boys.
Dr. Christine Crawford, a psychiatrist at Boston Medical Center and the Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester, said that in many cases black girls weren’t getting any intervention for suicidal ideation until after they end up in the emergency room due to attempting suicide. Even though treatments and interventions exist, they often do not arrive in time to help the children who are struggling.
“It’s heartbreaking because we know there are treatment options to prevent this,” Crawford said. “One reason Black youngsters sometimes don’t go through therapy is that they’re reluctant to confide in a person ‘who doesn’t look like them,’ ” Crawford said.
Of the approximately 8,000 child psychiatrists in the U.S., only 1% are people of color.
The study found that black girls were more likely to experience a breakup and would die by suicide within 24 hours of an argument, whereas black boys were more likely to experience a legal problem or face criminal charges prior to ending their life.
Girls were most likely to die by overdosing and boys were most likely to use a firearm, according to the study. In some cases, the children contacted family members before they chose to end their life, Crawford said.
“They want people to know they’re in distress,” she said, “but there is still a part of them that wants to be found, that wants to live.”
Sheftall and her team discovered that younger children between the age of 5 and 11 were more likely to have experienced family or school problems. If they had a mental health diagnosis, it was often a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which has several comorbidities with other mental health illnesses that may have been undiagnosed.
An attorney can help you find answers
If you or anyone you know has lost a child to suicide, The Law Offices of Skip Simpson has the experience and knowledge to investigate the circumstances of suicide and advise families on how to proceed during an extraordinarily difficult time. Our law firm is based in Texas but we serve clients nationwide.
If you have suffered the loss of a loved one who ended their life by suicide, contact attorney Skip Simpson today.
