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Abstract
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OBJECTIVE: Early adolescent self-identifying Black youth present with high rates of suicidality. This study assesses associations between seven explanatory variables (sex, weapon carrying, weight perceptions, grades, grade level, bullying at school, cyberbullying) and suicide ideation, planning, and attempts and identifies associations with suicidality as a composite measure among a US sample of Black middle school adolescents (BMSA).
METHOD: Data were extracted from the 2019 Middle School Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and associations between suicide ideation, planning, and attempts were explored. A network graphical representation of polychoric and tetrachoric correlations across suicidality outcomes and explanatory variables was performed. A multivariable, multinomial logistic regression model estimated associations between explanatory variables and suicide ideation (with and without planning) and planning (with and without ideation). Both suicide attempt and a composite suicidality metric were explored using independent logistic models with multiple imputation.
RESULTS: The sample included 7,643 self-identifying BMSA. Our findings indicate that approximately 28% reported suicidality. Prevalence rates were found of about one in four BMSA for suicidal ideation, one in six for suicidal planning, and one in ten for attempting suicide. Female BMSA, victims of cyberbullying, and carrying a weapon, experienced significantly higher odds of all suicidality outcome measures.
CONCLUSION: Practical implications for identifying and screening suicidality among BMSA to guide suicide prevention efforts are necessary.
FINDINGS validate the need for informed cultural approaches to suicide screening and prevention efforts to reduce suicide risk outcomes, especially when identifiable environmental factors are strongly associated with those outcomes.
Language: en |