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Abstract
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In February 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released two reports on suicidal thoughts and behavior (STB) trends.1,2 After a two-year decrease, overall suicide rates increased in 2021. Of particular concern are increasing racial and ethnic disparities in STBs, which have been exacerbated by COVID-19.
For example, among racial/ethnic groups, Black decedents 10 to 24 years of age had the largest rate increase (36.6%). Similarly, 10-year trends (2011–2021) among high school students in grades 9 through 12 from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey indicated high past-year rates of STBs and depressive symptoms among racial and ethnic minoritized youths and sexual minoritized youths. Students reporting multiple races had the highest rates (49%) of persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. Twenty-two percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning, or other nonheterosexual identity students (transgender youths were not categorized in the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey) and 33% of students with same-sex partners reported at least one suicide attempt in the past year, as compared with 6% of youths with only opposite-sex partners. These federally fielded surveillance efforts are critical to understanding the growing unmet mental health needs of youths, many of whom have inequitable access to mental health care and face individual-, provider-, institutional-, and systemic-level barriers.3
Research that examines ways to optimize and implement effective interventions in settings that serve youths at risk for suicide is urgently needed. For the purposes of this commentary, “minoritized youths” refers to youths who experience mental health disparities and are at increased risk for suicide. We acknowledge that terms used here cover a vast range of diversity and may change with further research advances and social trends. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) funds research on interventions to reduce STBs among Black youths, including scalable versions of evidence-based strategies in emergency departments, middle schools, and faith-based organizations (Box 1). Studies targeting systems-level suicide risk detection among youths experiencing disparate suicide-related outcomes are also of interest.
Language: en |