Increase in African American Teen Suicide and What Parents Can Do
Recently, a friend shared with me that her friend’s son died by the act of suicide. He was 22 years old and African American. According to the mother, there were no warning signs to consider; everything in her son’s world appeared normal and intact. Hearing my friend share that tragic news was shocking to me. I supposed that I, along with many African Americans, have inadvertently contributed to perpetuating the myth that “African Americans don’t kill themselves.” The reality is that African Americans, like any other ethnic group, are at risk for suicide. African Americans do kill themselves.
In fact (according to the American Academy of Pediatrics), when it comes to teens and emerging adults, suicide attempts have decreased across all ethnic groups from 1991–2017—EXCEPT for African Americans. African American boys had a significant linear increase in injury by attempt, which means that those who were not successful at killing themselves injured themselves in the process. Why is suicide on the rise among African American youth, and what can parents do to prevent the unthinkable and unbearable from happening?
While the explanation for the racial disparity is still largely a mystery, there is lots we know about preventing teen suicide. The crisis of suicide develops like a perfect storm of a combination of risk factors and stressors unique to the individual. For example, one young person could be exposed to numerous risk factors and struggle with thoughts about suicide, yet another could be exposed to the same risk factors and never once think about suicide. Major risk factors for teen suicide include having a psychiatric disorder (including depression), trauma or adverse childhood experiences (including both those that occur in the home and those that occur living in a racist society), exposure to suicide (having a friend or family member who died by suicide), and toxic levels of stress without adequate coping skills (such as being the victim of bullying, questioning sexual orientation, or conflict). Survivors of suicide attempts report that they felt isolated, disconnected/numb, guilt, shame, perceived burdensomeness, anxiety/fear, worthlessness, denial, anger, irritability, hopelessness, and that they had socially withdrawn from friends and family.
The good news for parents (including African American parents) is that there's a lot that parents can do as parents to reduce the risk that their child will resort to suicide to escape the misery of adolescence. We can build the Strengthening™ Families Protective Factors:
1. Concrete Support in Times of Need
The first and, perhaps, most important Protective Factor is accessing mental health services. While access to mental health services in African American communities has improved, only one in three African Americans who need mental health care receives it. According to the American Psychiatric Association, barriers to care include stigma, distrust of the medical system, and lack of health insurance. It is important to note that these concerns are not unwarranted; a July 2019 Washington Post article reports that bigotry has created an African American mental health crisis, with racism leading to misdiagnosis and incarceration instead of treatment. There is a clear need for culturally competent therapists. One place to start looking for assistance may be the African American Mental Health Providers directory or other similar local resources and referrals.
2. Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development
When it comes to teen suicide, protecting our kids begins with awareness and educating ourselves regarding risk factors, warning signs and the protective factors. What we know for certain is that exposure to risk factors increases the likelihood of risky behavior- that includes suicide; the more risk factors present, the greater the likelihood of risky behavior. Effective parenting also means being aware of destructive generational patterns and habits (i.e., substance abuse or addiction) that pose a threat to the well-being of our children. Joy DeGruy's work on Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome and intergenerational trauma perpetuated through parenting is especially important for African American parents. The book addresses the residual impacts of generations of slavery and opens up the discussion of how the African American community can use the strengths we have gained in the past to heal in the present.
3. Parental Resilience
It is all well and good to ask parents to model flexibility and inner strength in the face of adversity, but the fact is that our becoming overwhelmed is, in itself, a risk factor for our children. As parents, we can prevent traumatizing and re-traumatizing our children by taking care of ourselves, as undiagnosed mental health disorders are a common issue among adult Americans. If you suffer from anxiety or depression, seek the professional help you deserve. Exposure to untreated mental health issues in the family is a risk factor for children, as are verbal, emotional, and physical abuse or exposure to domestic violence. Parents have the power to facilitate positive change and, ultimately, protect their children. As African Americans, we minimize risks by re-examining and challenging the benefits of cultural codes of conduct. How has suffering in silence served us? In contrast, what does the research say about the benefits of therapy?
4. Positive Social Connections
In adolescence, peer group is a major contributing factor to our children's wellness. We need to know who our children are associating with and what they are experiencing with their peers. We need to know if they are being bullied. We need to be aware of their social media activity. Some studies cite social media as a contributing factor to teen suicide, as there are support groups for kids thinking of suicide that normalize it as an option. The crisis of suicide develops when we feel isolated and alienated from others. Staying connected to family, friends, school, athletic, and faith-based communities help children feel part of something bigger. We need to ensure that we and our children are connected to community.
5. Social Emotional Competence
Generally, modeling healthy problem-solving and coping skills will facilitate our children to learn to problem-solve independently and build their own confidence and competence. In addition, maintaining lines of communication and a positive, emotionally supportive relationship with our children is a major Protective Factor. In fact, in 2017, researchers from University of Cincinnati re-examined a federally-sponsored 2012 national study, and found that that children between the ages of 12–17 are significantly more likely to contemplate, plan, and attempt suicide when their parents do not engage in certain behaviors that demonstrate to their children that they care about them. Children 12–13 with parents who never (or rarely) told them they were proud of them or that they did a good job were nearly five times more likely to have suicidal thoughts, nearly seven times more likely to formulate a suicide plan, and about seven times more likely to attempt suicide than their peers. “The key is to ensure that children feel positively connected to their parents and family," said Rebecca Vidourek, one of the primary researchers and Co-Director of the Center for Prevention Science. Emotionally responsive parenting is a Protective Factor.
While adolescence is a time when our children develop their own individuality and move towards independence, our relationship with them is the number one Protective Factor that prevents trauma from turning into tragedy. In recent years, emphasis on parenting through the teen and emerging adult years has shifted from launching our children into the world like birds pushing their young out of the nest to fostering healthy family interdependence. According to the Center for Parent and Teen Communication “while rugged independence is a cherished national value, our long-term goal must be interdependence. People thrive when they remain connected to each other. Within families. Across generations. Within communities. We need to raise interdependent children."
Interdependence has been a major strength and source of resilience in African American families and communities for generations. We can build on this strength through intentionally increasing the Strengthening™ Families Protective Factors in our families, with our teens, and with our emerging adults. One resource for this is Parent Cafés, including our Parents of Teens & Emerging Adults Parent Café in a Box.
By: Dena Chapman, Phyllis Alongi, LPC, and Katthe Wolf
Resources
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Crisis and text line: 1-800-273-8255