Why are suicides rising in the Black community? We talk with experts in a Q&A for answers.
Black males too often don't feel comfortable talking about suicidal thoughts, and that's historically been one of the contributing factors to suicide rates that have been rising among Black males and females in Ohio and nationally, experts say.
The Dispatch interviewed several experts on the causes of and solutions to the rising rates.
● Jewel Woods, founder and clinical director of Male Behavioral Health Inc. and the Center for Men and Boys, an outpatient mental health practice with offices in Gahanna and Toledo, has more than two decades of experience working with men and boys. Woods is also an adjunct faculty member at the University of Michigan and the University of Toledo schools of social work. He authored a September 2022 article about the myths, complexities and uniqueness of Black Americans and suicide, bringing in a clinician's perspective on the topic and dispelling some of the myths that can be a barrier in receiving care.
● Brandon Johnson is a public health analyst at Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that leads public health efforts to improve the lives of individuals living with mental and substance use disorder.
● Kelly Sampson, senior counsel and director of Racial Justice at Brady United, a nonpartisan organization working to reduce gun violence in the United States. Most Black suicides are a result of firearms.
● Susan De Luca, PhD., an associate professor of psychiatry at the MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, has done research on adolescent and young adult suicide prevention centers, peer norms surrounding suicidal thoughts and behaviors, disclosure patterns before and after suicidal ideation and attempts, the availability of social coping resources, and help-seeking attitudes of adolescents in distress. Her work has specifically focused on racial/ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+, and underserved populations.
The responses by certain experts to Dispatch questions (not all were asked all the same questions) are listed below, and may have been edited for space:
What are some of the gender differences you've seen in suicide between Black males and females?
Dr. De Luca: Back then, [for Black female suicides], you didn't even need a legend. You knew those were the Black [females] because they always have this low rate. Now, a lot of my research has started to show an increase for Black females, and the increase is freaking all of us out in the field.
Men tend to use firearms, but we are seeing more and more females using guns as well. But what we have found recently is that since 2022, Latina females have been the highest for 30 years, and now Black females have actually superseded them in terms of attempts.
What are the differences in Black male youth suicide vs suicide among older white men?
Jewel Woods: There's a structural difference [in suicide] between white males and Black males. For white males, when they get older, 55 years old and above, that's when the likelihood of suicide increases. But for Black males, the [likelihood of] suicide increases between [ages] 25-34. And my argument is that's the time when Black males figure out that life just isn't what we thought it was. That America is not the America, they said it was.
Is the issue of Black suicide more complex compared to other racial groups?
Jewel Woods: Part of what makes Black suicide different from my vantage point are some of the internal ideas that we have. And then some of these external factors that — whether depending upon youth, or dependent upon adults — differ.
Black youth are the ones that are least likely to report that they will go to use K-12 mental health for three reasons. One, they don't have a trusted adult in the schools. Two, they don't feel like the mental health professionals share their same sort of demographics. Basically, it's lack of Black clinicians, whether it be male or female. And third, they feel like their parents don't respect the fact that they have mental health issues. At a minimum, that means that Black youth don't get access to the care that they need.
Kelly Sampson: We are seeing children and adolescents who are dealing with depression and anxiety, and part of it from the experiences that they're seeing — whether online or even in their own lives — that result from structural factors that come to bear on them. Whether that's just a feeling of despair around the opportunities for their future, etc. And all these sorts of issues come down on children and teens.
In your work, have you found a correlation between exposure to forms of violence and suicide?
Kelly Sampson: There is a temptation to put firearm suicide in a different bucket from gun homicide, but in a lot of ways they can be linked, especially if you're in a community where you might be experiencing gun homicide. We know that a lot of [Black] children are seeing gun violence impacting their community and not having resources or interventions aimed at them.
Jewel Woods: Police violence is very much connected with suicidality because it's a unique type of trauma. And when it comes to the experience of police abuse, you have to then say what makes it unique for [Black people] is that it happens more often to us than it does any other community. We have these experiences in our life, and we don't think about the mental health implications.
In your opinion, what are some of the main things needed to properly address Black male suicide? From the discourse to the research, what's missing?
Jewel Woods: What's missing on one level is a serious conversation about the real status of Black male life, whether it comes to educational statistics, employment statistics and all that sort of stuff.
So that's where mental health and, for example, outpatient therapy presumably has a role because my role is to say, despite whatever job you don't have and all that stuff, at least I can give you some skills and some insight to allow you to help you to deal with that.
Brandon Johnson: Finding culturally specific, culturally relevant services is challenging. In literature and in the research what we do know, is that overall individuals do better and have better mental health outcomes when they're paired with a therapist or mental health professional that represents identities that are important to them.
What are the successes and challenges that you're coming across in addressing this?
Jewel Woods: By far, the success is that males are opening up to the process of therapy. At the same time, that's a curse because I have a long wait list. I can't see all the folks that are seeking services for the first time.
Brandon Johnson: I think one big challenge is just the stigma around mental health challenges. What's happening within our community and just how we're able to talk about these things, there's still so much stigma around needing help as a Black male asking for help as a Black male. It' really just a tough thing to do.
I think one of the interesting things that I found just in the work that I've done is that you'll have groups of Black men all dealing with the same challenges, whether it be health challenges, family challenges, relationship challenges, financial challenges — and no one feels comfortable enough to really talk about those things.
What would you tell the families of suicide victims as well as those who may be struggling with suicidal ideations?
Jewel Woods: I would [ask] brothers simply say to themselves, 'This too shall pass.' Because what happens when it comes to suicidality [is], oftentimes, some people go through a long process. But it's this idea that tomorrow is going to be worse than today. And it's something that I just can't face, and so I'll choose to end my life... And just developing this whole message that, you know, things will pass. That you can actually get through to tomorrow if you are here for it.
And the last thing I'd say is that I love them, that there's people out there that love them, that see them, because I know that a lot of [Black males] don't feel that way.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Suicide rates are rising among Black Americans. See Q&A with experts:
