New study shows suicide rate for black children on the rise

The suicide rate among young black children, especially boys, has nearly doubled since the early 1990s, while the rate for white children has declined, according to a new study published Monday. The authors are trying to understand the troubling pattern, writing that black kids may experience more violence, stress or school discipline than whites, and are less likely to seek help for depression and other difficulties. Historically, suicide rates among blacks have been lower than among whites and it was the first time a national study found a higher suicide rate for blacks than for whites of any age group.

I looked at it and I thought, ‘Did we do the analysis correctly?’ I thought we had made a mistake.

Jeffrey Bridge, from the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, to the New York Times

Researchers analyzed data from 1993 to 2012 and found the suicide rate just over 1 per million children ages 5 through 11. But for black boys, it edged up from less than 2 per million to almost 3.5 per million. There was a slight decline among white boys. The study was published online Monday in JAMA Pediatrics. The researchers analyzed data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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