UNC Study Reveals “Alarming” Suicide Trend Among Black Middle Schoolers

By Cash Michaels –

According to a new study from UNC researchers, one in four Black middle school students have had thoughts of suicide, one in six “made plans to take their own lives,” and one in 10 actually made a suicide attempt.

These are just some of the findings recently published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Based on information derived from 7,643 self-identifying Black youth for the study (titled “The Factors Associated with Suicide Risk Behavior Outcomes Among Black Middle School Adolescents”), researchers further found that “…28% of Black middle school students nationally have reported suicidal thoughts or behaviors.…”

From the plain language summary of the report, suicide rates have increased alarmingly for early adolescent Black youth, and “exploring factors that inform suicide risk behavior outcomes” is necessary for this population.

The authors found that approximately 28% of Black middle-school adolescents reported some form of suicidality, with higher odds experienced among female participants. Other factors associated with suicidality included carrying a weapon, being bullied, being cyberbullied, and reporting lower grades in school.

The stunning report adds that suicide rates for early adolescent self-identifying Black populations aged 10 to 14 years, have risen extraordinarily in the United States over the last two decades, resulting in suicide becoming the second leading cause of death for this population. From 2003 to 2017, researchers noted significant upward trends in suicide rates for Black youth aged 5 to 14 years. Furthermore, Black youth aged 5 to 12 years were twice as likely as White youth to die by suicide.

These alarming increases have resulted in the acknowledgment and amplification of Black youth suicide as a national public health crisis. Researchers attribute these increases in suicidality to the disproportional experiences of racism, gendered racism, discrimination, and racial trauma found to increase suicide risk outcomes among Black youth populations.

Altogether, data indicate an increased risk of suicide for self-identifying Black adolescents, where race is acknowledged as a social construct. Despite the increased suicide rates for Black youth populations, less is known about the early adolescent or middle school population, necessitating an examination of this younger population.

The summary continued, “Among Black youth aged 13 to 19 years, sex-based differences were identified with male suicidal thought and behavior (STB) rates increasing by 60% and female rates increasing by 182% between 2001 and 2017. These rates are alarming, as individuals who have engaged in STBs are at high risk for future death by suicide. Specifically, among Black adolescents aged 12 to 14 years, researchers found a significant upward trend in suicide rates, with Black girls experiencing an annual percentage rate twice that of Black boys.”

The UNC researchers add that because Black youth suicide is an “understudied” area of research, a ground-level approach aiming to build a more encompassing understanding of suicidality is necessary.