Reasons for Suicide in Black Young Adults: A Latent Class Analysis

Abstract

Background: Suicides have increased among Black youth in the US, though it remains unclear if these trends persist into young adulthood. Further, even less is known about the reasons why individuals begin to consider suicide as a viable option. The current study aims to redress these gaps by identifying specific reasons for suicide among a sample of 264 Black young adults who reported experiencing suicidal thoughts within the past 2 weeks. Methods: Participants were recruited from an online panel. Reasons for suicide were measured using eight individual items/indicators. Latent class analysis was used to detect underlying patterns in Black young adults’ reasons for considering suicide. Results: The most commonly reported reason for considering suicide among the entire sample was feeling hopeless about the future. Black women were more likely to report considering suicide because they could not live up to other’s expectations and because they felt lonely and sad. Findings for the 3-class model were retained. The first class is described as the “Somewhat hopeless and other reasons” class (n = 85; 32%). The second class is “Accomplished but extremely lonely and sad” (n = 24; 9%). The third class is described as “Pronounced feelings of failure, hopelessness, being overwhelmed, and lack of accomplishment” and includes 59% of the sample (n = 155). Conclusions: Culturally grounded clinical treatments and interventions are needed to meet the specific mental health needs of Black young adults. A particular focus on identifying factors that drive feelings of hopelessness and failure is warranted.