Suicide Among Black Adolescents and Young Adults: A Rising Problem (IN: Ethnic Issues in Adolescent Mental Health, ed. by A R Stiffman & L E Davis)

The suicidal trends of black youth & explanations for various factors associated with suicide are examined. On a macrosociological level, suicide was viewed as a personal act, affected by the social relations & social conditions that help to form one’s self-identity. It is argued that the future suicide rates of black youth will be strongly affected by the strength of their relational ties in the family & community. Therefore, intervention might be most effective at the relational level.