The intersection of race, ethnicity, and gender and the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors

Wisconsin appointed a public-private partnership, Prevent Suicide Wisconsin (PSW), to lead suicide prevention in the state. Oklahoma’s Suicide Prevention Act designated the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) as the lead agency for the state’s suicide prevention education and activities. The New York State (NYS) budget for the NYS Office of Mental Health’s (OMH) Suicide Prevention Center of New York (SPCNY) provides annual funding to support suicide prevention activities across all six essential functions. Massachusetts has an $8 million annual budget line item that funds suicide prevention activities. This structure has helped extend the reach of PSW and supported best practices in suicide prevention across sectors.

suicide prevention for minority populations

Community Violence.

  • ” The response options were “heterosexual,” “gay or lesbian,” “bisexual or pansexual,” and “please specify.” All respondents who did not report heterosexual were coded as sexual minority.
  • For example, the REAL skills groups that focus on various refusal skills and a group-based social-norms approach have improved outcomes in the culturally based prevention program for Latino youth called Keepin’ It Real, especially when used with youth around the seventh grade (Marsiglia et al. 2012).
  • The barriers seen in schools replicate patterns observed in community-based suicide prevention services that yield delays or limit access to mental health care, which exacerbates symptoms and increases vulnerability to suicide-related risk.
  • South Carolina’s Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office oversees a health and demographics database.

Multiple meta-analytic studies have suggested that bisexual youth are at particularly high risk for suicide and are more likely to report suicidal thoughts and behaviors than gay, lesbian and other sexual minority peers (e.g., Marshal et al., 2011; Salway et al., 2019). Bisexual youth had elevated rates of suicidal ideation and attempts, more risk factors (e.g., bullying victimization, depression), and fewer protective factors (e.g., parent-family connectedness, positive affect) relative to mostly straight and other sexual minority youth. This study provides strong mixed methods evidence of the preliminary efficacy of a brief, multimodal gatekeeper training in promoting positive gatekeeper behaviors and self-efficacy for suicide prevention in an at-risk ethnic minority population of Japanese Americans.

suicide prevention for minority populations

From 2010 to 2020, suicide rates among Black youth increased by 108.9% among 15–19 year olds and 78.5% among 20–24 year olds, compared with 31.9% and 25.4% among White youth, respectively (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022). Black youth under 13 are twice as likely to die by suicide compared to their White peers, and the suicide rate among Black youth is increasing faster than any other racial/ethnic group (Bridge et al., 2015). Future research should utilize Cultural Consensus Modeling to elevate the voices of Black youth, improving extant theories of suicide, and identifying unique mechanisms or opportunities for prevention. Cultural Consensus Modeling provides an evidence‐based approach for developing a culturally informed understanding of suicide risk among Black youth. Lastly, the chapter examines refugee and migrant populations, highlighting how pre- and post-migration stressors, such as trauma, displacement, and exclusion from host societies, elevate suicide risk.

suicide prevention for minority populations

Data extraction

Many factors are implicated in the disparities in suicide care and outcomes for minoritized groups, including racism, bias, discrimination, trauma exposure, poverty, disparities in access to care, and others. Although suicide rates are lower among youths ages 10–24, when compared with adults, they account for the second leading cause of death for this age group and constitute 14% of all suicide deaths (1). Suicide efforts have increasingly been focused on young people, as suicide remains the second leading cause of death for people 10–24 years old (2), according to CDC data collected through 2019. Trends identified when examining suicide rates by age, gender, and race have helped identify groups who are at higher risk.

suicide prevention for minority populations

Links to NCBI Databases

suicide prevention for minority populations

A similar pattern was found for suicide plans and suicide attempts, where the inclusion of psychiatric disorders significantly attenuated the odds (Table 3). The mean for each EDS item was significantly higher for those with lifetime suicidal ideation than for those without suicidal ideation. All suicidality outcomes represent weighted percentages and standard errors, adjusted for the complex survey design.

Addressing racism and justice issues beyond more traditional IPTS targets would https://drexel.edu/counselingandhealth/counseling-center/cultural-identity-resources/latinx appear to be critical for suicide prevention efforts for Black youth, but it may also provide youth with reasons for living upon which to build strengths‐based prevention approaches. In the event an adolescent endorsed suicidal ideation during the study procedures, a suicide risk assessment was conducted and a safety plan was discussed with the adolescent and parent. Given known barriers to mental health help‐seeking in Black youth (Planey et al., 2019), a low bar for inclusion was intended to include those who may under‐report symptoms or purposefully omit self‐report of suicidal ideation. The purpose of the study is to elucidate reasons for and against suicide as identified by Black youth, elevating the voices of these youth as a foundation for building a culturally informed understanding of suicide risk in this population. Phase 1 involves asking Black youth with a history of passive suicidal ideation to access their shared cultural knowledge about the risk of suicide.

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