Study Preregistration: Does State-level Structural Racism Impact Risk for Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Among US Adolescents Across Race and Ethnicity?

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2023 Jul;62(7):829-830. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2023.03.006. Epub 2023 Mar 15.

Abstract

In the United States, suicide deaths have disproportionately increased among Black and Hispanic youth over the past 2 decades.1 Despite the critical need for more culturally responsive suicide prevention strategies, there has been only sparse research into unique risk factors commonly experienced among ethnoracially minoritized youth, such as racism-related experiences. Experiences of racial and ethnic discrimination (ie, a behavioral manifestation of racism via unfair treatment predicated on an individual's racial and/or ethnic group affiliation) have been associated with higher rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) in Black and Hispanic adolescents.2,3 This research has largely focused on individual-level racism (ie, interpersonal exchanges) assessed via subjective self-report surveys. Thus, less is known about the impact of structural racism, which is enacted at the system level.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Black or African American* / psychology
  • Cultural Competency / psychology
  • Ethnicity
  • Hispanic or Latino* / psychology
  • Humans
  • Suicidal Ideation
  • Suicide Prevention
  • Suicide* / ethnology
  • Suicide* / psychology
  • Systemic Racism* / ethnology
  • Systemic Racism* / psychology
  • United States