Investigating Suicide Risk and Protective Factors among Economically Disadvantaged, Preteen Black Youth

Suicide among Black preadolescents has increased rapidly over the last two decades, reaching unprecedented levels. While there have been substantive gains in knowledge related to the etiology of preadolescent suicide ideation and behaviors (SIB), most of this work has included predominantly White samples or have been cross-

sectional or short-term longitudinal studies. Less is known about the course of SIB during preadolescence, and malleable individual-specific and social ecological precursors and correlates associated with this course, among low-income, urban Black youth. Such work is vital to informing developmentally and culturally relevant preventive

interventions aimed at mitigating this major public health problem. The proposed R01 seeks to characterize the epidemiology and course of SIB among a socioeconomically disadvantaged, urban sample of Black preadolescents, and to identify factors that confer risk or protection for SIB over time in this understudied

population. To do this, we will build on data collection that occurred as part of a cluster randomized preventive intervention trial (DA039869) conducted in 48 urban elementary schools with ~5,000 economically disadvantaged K-2 students of which 2,100 are Black and will be between the ages of 10-12 in the fall of 2024.

The proposed 4-year longitudinal study seeks to accomplish the following aims: characterize the severity and course of SIB during pre- and early adolescence in a random stratified sub-sample of 1,000 Black youth drawn from the larger sample of 2,100. Urban, economically disadvantaged Black youth represent a disproportionately

understudied population in preadolescent SIB research (Aim 1); identify risk and protective individual (i.e., mental health), proximal and distal environments (e.g., life events, racial discrimination), as well as macro-level factors (e.g., structural racism) that may be associated with the emergence and progression of SIB (Aim 2); and

determine whether the early elementary school-based universal preventive interventions targeting emotion regulation and social problem-solving result in reduced engagement in SIB across the preadolescent and early adolescent years (Aim 3). In addition, in Years 2 and 3 we will draw 2 random stratified sub-samples from the

larger sub-sample of 1,000 to conduct 2 pilot studies encompassing observations of parent-child interactions (e.g., communication, conflict) and qualitative interviews aimed at better understanding Black youth’s experiences and coping with racial discrimination. The consideration of multi-level influences and our multi-modal

approach to assessing these influences through the inclusion of quantitative and qualitative assessments will provide a better understanding of the risk and protective factors that have otherwise been unmeasured and/or missed in current research. The investigative team brings together expertise in the etiology, epidemiology, and

prevention of SIB among Black preadolescence; child and developmental psychopathology; minority health and health disparities; and mixed methods; thus, we are extremely well-positioned to accomplish the study aims.