September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, which helps promote awareness
around suicide, highlight resources on prevention, and identify ways to talk more openly about
suicide to help others decrease risk. Suicide is a serious mental health concern. It often occurs
along with symptoms of depression, which can be treated with therapy.
However, many are reluctant to seek professional help for mental health issues, especially in
the Black community. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
suicide is the third leading cause of death among Black youth. Therefore, it is important that we
identify risks early to prevent actual suicide attempts.
Risk Factors of Suicide
An article published in the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (Horwitz, Czyz,
& King, 2015) looked at suicide attempts in teens and young adults. The study identified specific
risk factors for engaging in suicidal behaviors.
According to the study by Horwitz and his co-authors increased risk of suicide was related to
socioeconomic status, severity of suicidal thoughts, past history of suicide attempts, and a
history of self-injurious behavior (e.g., cutting). Although these signs help to identify risk, suicide
is very difficult to predict.
Some experts have noted that ethnic differences exist in how suicide behaviors are presented.
During the 2015 Association of Black Psychologists (ABPSI) Convention in Las Vegas, NV – Dr.
Krystal Cook Simmons, Ph.D. (Clinical Associate Professor at Texas A&M University) stated
that Black youth may not exhibit some of the classic symptoms we might expect among those
who are at risk of engaging in suicide.
For example, Dr. Simmons identified the following behaviors among Black youth:
Less likely to report suicidal ideation (e.g., thoughts of wanting to die)
Less likely to express hopelessness (e.g., feeling things will never get better)
Often engage in active coping (e.g., doing physical activity)
However, individuals who may be having thoughts of suicide will usually have feelings of hurting
themselves or talk about wanting to die, seek access to guns, pills, or other weapons to hurt
themselves, or talk about death, dying or suicide.
If you have family members who have these behaviors, it is important to take them serious and
help them get professional help.
During her workshop at the ABPSI convention, Dr. Simmons suggested that parents or others
should not tell youth that they’re being silly, agree that their problems are really bad, or try to
guilt them into changing their feelings.
If you notice some of the signs above or your child tells you they are depressed or suicidal,
below are some ways to help make things better.
Increase family connectedness: It may help improve their mood and increase their hope that
things can get better in their lives.
Engage them in spiritual or religious activities: Research notes that attending church and
religious activities helps protect against depression and suicide.
Increased number of people living in the household: By increasing the number of individuals
around the youth, it helps with monitoring behavior and decreasing risky activity that may result
in harm.
If you or a loved one is in need of support, call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988.