What Works for Adolescent Black Males at Risk of Suicide: A Review. (March 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Joe, Sean; Scott, Marquisha Lawrence; Banks, Andrae
• Other Names: Briggs Harold E. guest-editor.; Miller Keva M. guest-editor.; Holosko Micchael guest-editor.; Huggins-Hoyt Kimberly Y. guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Research on social work practice. Volume 28:Number 3(2018)
• Page Start: 340
• Page End: 345
• Publication Date: 2018-03
• Subjects: suicide -- treatment -- Black males -- adolescents; Social service -- Periodicals; 361.3205
• DOI: 10.1177/1049731517702745
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1049-7315

Abstract

We reviewed the controlled studies that report outcome findings for Black adolescent males 24 years of age and younger at risk of suicide. Our review identified 48 articles published from 2000 to 2015, 33 that met our initial criteria for full-text articles review, resulting in 6 that met all inclusion criteria. We sought to understand what works for Black males experiencing suicide ideation or engaging in suicidal behaviors (e.g., attempts). We identified crossover effects for multisystemic therapy for reducing the risk for suicide ideation and attempts. Attachment-based family therapy was salient for use as a component of clinical practice for Black males being treated for suicide ideation. While remaining randomized control trials did involve Black youth, disaggregated data based on ethnicity and gender were not reported. Overall, the located studies are too few to provide unequivocal guidance for practice.