Suicide and African Americans: An Overview
Suicide is increasingly becoming a major public health issue. Each year over one million people die by suicide worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates that suicide is the thirteenth leading cause of death worldwide (Gross 2006) and the National Safety Council rates death by suicide eleventh in the United States (Minino and Heron 2006). It is a leading cause of death among teenagers and adults under 35 (Nikola 2006). The rate of completed suicide is higher in men than in women (O’Connor and Noel 2000). It is estimated that workforce-related suicides cost businesses as much as $13 billion annually (Research! America 2008) and for every suicide prevented, the United States could save an average of $3,875 in medical expenses and $1,178,684 in lost productivity (Research! America 2008). Caucasians are twice as likely as African Americans to complete suicide. The rate of suicide is growing faster among African American youth than among Caucasian youth (American Association of Suicidology 2006); it is the third leading cause of death for African Americans aged 15-24 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2007). This is a descriptive study of various dimensions of suicide among African Americans in the past decade with a discussion of prevention and screening tools. African American Attitudes towards Suicide and Mental Health Treatment Historically, suicidal behaviors among African Americans have received little attention. This may be attributed to the belief that very few African Americans believe in suicide or that religious beliefs prevent African Americans from committing suicide. There also is the belief that African Americans do not experience depression, which in its severe state often can lead to suicide. Abuse of medications, especially antidepressants, can be a factor in suicide completions. In a study conducted by TN Medicaid waiver managed-care program study (Ray Wayne et al. 2007), only 29 percent of reported African American suicides and possible suicides compared to 51 percent Caucasian suicides used prescribed anti-depressants in the year prior to committing suicide. Other studies also show a significant difference in prescribed anti-depressant treatment among African Americans compared to Caucasian Americans. Although African Americans are less likely to receive treatment for depression, they have similar to higher rates of depression than their Caucasian counterparts. Minority adults also are more likely to lack trust in their physicians. Cultural mistrust, especially in mental health services provided by European American clinicians, is believed to be behind the negative attitude towards psychiatric intervention. Lack of doctors from patient’s same race and ethnicity also plays an important role apart from the fact that culturally incompetent doctors are more likely to violate the Please address all correspondence to Kenneth Osiezagha: drkenza2@gmail.com Osiezagha 29