From Their Perspective: Engaging Black Youth in Research to Understand and Address Rising Suicide Risk

Body of Abstract:

Background: Knowledge of factors that present unique ways to reduce racial disparities among youth is lacking. As an example, suicide deaths among Black youth, a historically marginalized population, have quickly outpaced our relative and emerging knowledge on suicidality (e.g., suicidal thoughts and attempts). As noted by the Congressional Black Caucus Emergency Task Force on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health in the “Ring the Alarm: The Crisis of Black Youth Suicide in America” report, the suicide rate among Black youth in the U.S. is increasing faster than any other racial-ethnic group (Caucus, 2020). In order to address the gap in knowledge and work to lower suicide risk among Black youth, we must understand how lived experience, especially around race and identity and the history of marginalizing systems, influences suicide risk. However, much of our knowledge on suicidality is derived from comparisons between Black and White youth—negating the depth of Black youth experiences and the cultural relevance for some but not all Black youth. This has resulted in years of top-down approaches to suicide research that include Black youth merely as research participants. Alternatively, youth-engaged research approaches have the potential to elucidate how and for whom cultural factors operate as a threat or as protective across family, school, and community systems for Black youth.

The Allen County Black Youth Suicide Project was created to engage Black youth in an examination of the causes and consequences of disparities in suicide that are most relevant to them through the development of a Youth Ambassador Program, now named by youth as Team BLISS (Black Lives Inspiring Suicide Solutions). Using Youth Participatory Research Methods, the current project aimed to (1) engage in Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) methods to investigate youth-informed, culturally relevant individual, and context-dependent suicide risk and protective factors for Black youth in middle and high school and (2) examine Black youth’s perceptions and experiences of engaging in YPAR as an approach to understanding suicide risk among Black youth.

Methods and Research

Aims: Across 3.5 days of group sessions, 14 youth (9th – 12th grade) engaged alongside researchers and community partners to reflect on the relevance of racial health disparities in the U.S., understand root causes and consequences of racial disparities in suicide deaths among adolescents in the U.S., and develop a scientific inquiry into examining the lived experiences of Black youth in their communities. Following youth involvement in Team BLISS, we completed semi-structured interviews to understand their experiences within the group and changed perspectives on suicide as a racial health disparity.

Results: Preliminary findings of youth experiences as part of Team BLISS suggest that youths’ perspectives about racial disparities shift from a broad acknowledgment of racial differences to a specified understanding of how structures and systems disadvantage Black youth. We also find that youth report social connection with peers and trust adults (“someone to talk to”) as a relevant cultural experience necessary to address Black youth suicide prevention. This presentation will share the final results of our interviews and youth experiences within this unique program. We also discuss the next steps and future directions of youth engagement in this critical work.

Conclusion: Youth-engaged research has supported the development of prevention and intervention programming across several psychological and health outcomes. However, research in partnership with Black youth on racial health disparities in suicide is sparse. Engaging Black youth in suicide research can provide insight into the strengths that Black youth recognize within their communities as effective toward improving their mental health and well-being. Social networks are an essential protective factor in reducing suicide risks among Black youth. As we engaged alongside youth in this crucial work, we needed to create a supportive ecology for Black youth through adult support that did not perpetuate the oppressive settings they might endure in their everyday lives. Thus, our work alongside youth is both an implementation of known protective factors (support) and an advancement in research theory on community-level engagement with Black youth, which we hope will further inform culturally relevant suicide theories.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss the rising increased suicide risk Black youth face as compared to other youth.
• Identify Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) to engage youth in understanding and addressing health and community challenges.
• Describe Black youth experiences in engaging in suicide prevention research.