Informing Equitable Prevention Practices: A Statewide Disaggregated Analysis of Suicide for Ethnoracially Minoritized Adolescents.

The increase in adolescent suicide rates in the United States is a pervasive public health issue, and ethnoracial youth with diverse identities are disproportionately impacted, yet less studied. National planning efforts reinforce state-level approaches to suicide prevention through an equitable lens to prevent adolescent suicide. This study examined disaggregated state-level data over time to determine changes to suicide outcomes based on race/ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, and the intersection of these identities and determined which sub-groups had higher odds of suicide outcomes. Data from the 1991-2019 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System were analyzed for 17,419 ethnoracially minoritized high school adolescents in North Carolina. Descriptive analyses and multinominal logistic regression models were employed. Findings indicated that subgroups within categories of ethnoracial populations, specifically Black female adolescents unsure of their sexual orientation, reported higher rates of suicide attempts. Additionally, Multiracial adolescents reported higher means for suicide consideration and attempts over time. Recommendations for investigating state-level suicide data by focusing on diverse intersecting identities to illuminate areas for potential prevention efforts and support health equity are provided.

Caring Transitions - A Care Coordination Intervention to Reduce Suicide Risk Among Youth Discharged From Inpatient Psychiatric Hospitalization.

Background: Suicide risk following youth psychiatric hospitalization is of significant concern. This study evaluated Linking Individuals Needing Care (LINC), a theory-driven, comprehensive care coordination approach for youth discharged from crisis services. Aims: To pilot LINC's potential effectiveness in increasing service utilization and decreasing suicide risk. Method: Participants were 460 youth patients who received LINC for approximately 90 days following discharge from crisis services. Service utilization, depressive symptoms, and suicide-related variables were measured at baseline and 30, 60, and 90 days after baseline. Results: Patients significantly increased the use of various beneficial, least restrictive services (individual therapy, medication management, and non-mental health supports) over the 90-day intervention. Significant decreases were observed in depressive symptoms, suicide ideation, and engagement in suicide-related behaviors. Limitations: Absence of a comparison group and nonparticipating families limit causal conclusions and generalizability. Conclusions: LINC may be a promising new approach following inpatient hospitalization that can engage and retain youth in services, likely resulting in improved treatment outcomes. This approach was designed emphasizing patient engagement, suicide risk assessment and management, safety planning, community networking, referral/linkage monitoring, coping and motivational strategies, and linguistic/culturally responsive practices to meet service and support needs of high-risk suicidal youth.

Contextualizing Black Women's Mental Health in the Twenty-First Century: Gendered Racism and Suicide-Related Behavior.

Despite predictions from the Black-White and gender paradoxes in suicide risk, there has been a recent growth in suicide rates among Black women and girls that requires special attention from social and behavioral researchers. In this review, we demonstrate how and why an intersectional framework is needed to understand and contextualize Black women's mental health and suicide risk. To begin, we outline data and existing literature on Black women's mental health outcomes. Next, we provide insights from intersectional and Black feminist scholars on the uniqueness of Black womanhood and the necessity of centering racism and sexism in studies of Black women. Third, we present clear links between mental health, gendered racism experienced by Black women, and the Strong Black Woman schema which they adopt to navigate society. Fourth, and finally, we discuss practical and scholarly applications for this work. To this end, this research agenda is about advocating for the consideration of psychosocial and sociocultural factors in practice and research on suicide-related behavior.

Exploring Service Use Disparities among Suicidal Black Youth in a Suicide Prevention Care Coordination Intervention.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to examine service utilization disparities among Black youth participating in Linking Individuals Needing Care (LINC), a 90-day research-informed suicide care coordination intervention. METHODS: An open trial pilot was conducted to examine the effectiveness of LINC in increasing access to and engagement in mental health and non-mental health services among suicidal youth (N = 587). Other variables of interest included service use facilitators and service use barriers. Generalized linear mixed models with binomial distribution and logit link were performed to ascertain if service use facilitators and barriers were associated with service utilization and if disparities in service use and engagement existed between Black and White suicidal youth through a comparative analysis. RESULTS: Service utilization differences were found between Black and White youth. While Black and White youth were both likely to engage in individual therapy (OR = 1.398, p < .001) and non-mental health services (OR = 1.289, p < .001), utilization rates for mental health and medication management services were lower for Black (55.1% to 60.6%) youth compared to White (66.0% to 71.0%) youth. Specifically, Black youth were significantly less likely than Whites to receive medication management (OR = .466, p = .002). Systemic barriers such long waitlists for care (OR = 1.860, p = .039) and poor relationship with providers (OR = 7.680, p = .028) increased odds of engagement in non-mental health services. Clinical disorders and engagement in suicide-related behaviors increased the likelihood of obtaining care from both medication management and non-mental health services. CONCLUSION: Care coordination services for suicidal youth can increase access and engagement in mental health and non-mental health services. Culturally adapted models attending to cultural and social assets of Black families are needed to reduce disparities and suicide risk among Black youth.