Abstract: Suicidal and Delinquent Behavior Among African American Youth: Exploring the Role of ACEs and PTSD (Society for Social Work and Research 29th Annual Conference)

Schedule:

Sunday, January 19, 2025

Willow B, Level 2 (Sheraton Grand Seattle)

* noted as presenting author

Camille R. Quinn, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Michigan, School of Social Work

Durrell Washington, MSW, Doctoral Candidate, University of Chicago, IL

Donte Boyd, PhD, Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

Evelyn Coker, MSW, MBA, PhD Student, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI

Ashima Saigal, MSW, Research Assistant, University of Michigan

Nelson Francoise, MSW, Doctoral Student, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Background and Purpose

Black youth suicide has become a significant public health issue, with Black youth and young adults (BYYA) having the most considerable increase in suicide rate between 2007 and 2020. Specifically, Black youth suicide increased 144%, from 1.54 per 100,000 in 2007 to 3.77 per 100,000 in 2020. Others note from 2003 to 2017 that suicide rates among Black boys and girls only increased every year, with the most significant increase in rates among black youth from 15 to 17. Also, of note is the persistent suicide rates among Black youth in the legal system. Moreover, research indicates that the number of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are associated with a greater risk of suicidal ideation and attempts. The current study investigates the associations of delinquent behavior, ACEs and PTSD on BYYA suicidal attempts who are involved with the legal system.

Methods

The 362 study participants included BYYA ages 18 to 24. The data derives from a Midwestern study of young adult experiences with histories of legal system involvement, ACEs, PTSD, and suicidal behavior. Participants were recruited from across the U.S. through Qualtrics panels, an online survey delivery service used to recruit study participants, especially from difficult-to-reach populations. Participants were recruited through an email invitation from Qualtrics to complete the survey that took no more than 30 minutes. Participants were eligible to join if they identified as Black were between 14 and 24 years old and had histories of legal system involvement. BYYA average age is 21 (SD: 1.91) in the Midwestern U.S. Descriptive and multivariate statistics, including bivariate and multivariate regression were used to assess the associations of these study factors on the outcome variable: suicide attempts.

Results

Separate bivariate and multivariate results found that BYYA who engaged in delinquency were 5.81 times and 4.19 times more likely to attempt suicide than youth who did not respectively. Similarly, BYYA who had histories of PTSD were 3.95 times and 1.97 times more likely to attempt suicide. Last, BYYA with histories of ACEs were 1.31 times and 1.16 times more likely to engage in suicide attempts.

Conclusion

Consideration needs to be given to the racial and mental health disparities of BYYA who engage in delinquent behavior. Practitioners who work with BYYA need to consider the context of their delinquency to understand how it impacts their suicidality.