Suicide rates are on the rise in Black communities across the country. Before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic there was a significant rise in the rate of suicides by Black adults in the United States, a trend that has persisted. And while suicides in Black communities tend to be highest during adolescence and young adulthood, research notes this disturbing trend now occurs across the lifespan, begging the question: Are Black people prepared to address the increase in suicides within their community?
Jenny Cureton, Ph.D., associate professor Counselor Education and Supervision at Kent State’s School of Lifespan Development & Educational Sciences, is the lead author of “Readiness of a U.S. Black community to address suicide,” a study that addresses this important question.
“The solution isn’t to name the problem and throw money at it from afar,” said Cureton, “The community guides how the issue is understood and what solutions are best.”
A research team including Kamesha Spates, Ph.D., the William S. Dietrich II Endowed Chair, and associate professor of Africana studies at the University of Pittsburgh, along with Tierra James, Ph.D., at Auburn University and Christina Lloyd, M.A. at Kent State, wanted to understand how prepared people were to address this crisis. To do that, they examined northeast Ohio, where suicide rates among Black residents rose more than 100 percent between 2011 and 2021. Their research was published in Death Studies, and it found that the community was not as prepared as they could be to tackle this crisis.
Numerous reasons may explain the rise in suicides within Black communities: systemic racism and discrimination, disproportionate exposure to high rates of violence, lack of access to care, and stigma to seek mental health counseling, among others.
Research takeaways:
- Based on several metrics, researchers found Black communities with high suicide rates in Ohio not yet fully prepared to tackle the crisis.
- People said they were focused on other issues (disproportionate incarceration rates, substance abuse, etc.).
- Outdated (sometimes inaccurate) information about Black Americans’ low suicide rates confused the issue.
The Center for Disease Control notes that suicide rates among Black Americans 10-24 years old increased more than 36 percent from 2018 to 2021: the largest proportional increase among any demographic. For all ages, suicide rates in Black Americans rose 26 percent from 2018 to 2021.
“The community’s knowledge about suicide is average (potentially growing as the problem is discussed more openly), but the community could benefit greatly from more focused leadership and resources, communications to address suicide and mental health stigma, and ways to spread the word on existing efforts and support to create new and sustainable initiatives,” said Cureton.
“People who were aware of the issue tended not to view it as a priority," said Spates. "They were engaged and aware in general of issues their communities faced, but when it came to suicide specifically, they were less informed. They would say, ‘How do we worry about suicide when people are overdosing on fentanyl, and people are homeless, and folks are being incarcerated disproportionately?'"
Next, the research team will return to the communities they surveyed with their findings on readiness and suicide misconceptions. But they won’t have a plan for residents, instead they will work with the communities to develop culturally relevant strategies tailored to their needs.
To learn more, please refer to the materials listed below:
James, T., Spates, K., Cureton, J. L., Patel, S., Lloyd, C., & Daniel, D. (2023). . Deviant Behavior, 44(2),
204-221.
Cureton, J. L., Spates, K., James, T., & Lloyd, C. (2023). . Death Studies. Advance online publication.
(Pictured left to right) Jenny Cureton and Christina Lloyd