An examination of suicidality of African American adolescents at a local and national level

Citation

Crabtree, Emma; Brest, Brittany; & Lewis, Rhonda K. (2019). An examination of suicidality of African American adolescents at a local and national level. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community. pp. 1-10

Abstract

Suicidality is a serious concern in this country. In the U.S. nearly 40,000 people die by suicide each year. It is the 10th leading cause of death. For those 15–24, it is the 2nd leading cause of death. Using data from the Add Health Longitudinal data set and data gathered from a local organization an examination of suicidality among African American youth was conducted. Given the trauma and low resourced situations many African American adolescents find themselves in, interventions are needed to address these health concerns before other issues such as education and other life options (i.e., careers) are addressed. Questions that participants were asked related to suicidal ideation and suicide attempts; did you ever seriously consider attempting suicide and did you attempt suicide? The results showed that the local sample had higher suicidal ideation than the Add health national sample (20% vs. 13.6%), respectively. The local sample had higher percentages of suicide attempts in the past twelve months compared to the National sample. There was a statistically significant difference between females and males in the sample. Limitations and future research are found in the discussion.

URL

https://doi.org/10.1080/10852352.2019.1654259

Keyword(s)

adolescent

Reference Type

Journal Article

Journal Title

Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community

Author(s)

Crabtree, Emma
Brest, Brittany
Lewis, Rhonda K.

Year Published

2019

Pages

1-10

ISSN/ISBN

1085-2352

DOI

10.1080/10852352.2019.1654259

Reference ID

6739