Changes in Perceived Levels of Environmental Stress Before and After a Suicide Attempt in Black American Adolescents: A 14-Year Longitudinal Study

Abstract

A growing interest in factors that may explain suicidality rates in the United States is fueled in part by the increased rates of suicide behaviors in Black American adolescents, primarily male adolescents. The present longitudinal study investigates the extent to which environmental adversity or stress may relate to the course of suicide attempts in Black American adolescents living in extreme poverty (N = 457). We also consider how age and gender affect the longitudinal relations among the study variables (i.e., environmental stress and suicidality). Results indicate that suicide attempts increase over time, and environmental stress decreases over time. Furthermore, when examined in conjunction with environmental stress and gender, suicide attempts increase to a greater extent among adolescents with higher levels of environmental stress, and this effect is greater for older adolescents than for younger adolescents. Also, when baseline levels of environmental stress, suicide attempts, and gender are considered, different trajectories are found between adolescents with low baseline environmental stress levels and adolescents with high baseline environmental stress levels. Gender was significantly related to outcomes for those participants who self-reported high levels of environmental stress at baseline, but not for those who reported low levels of environmental stress at baseline. We discuss implications for future research and for culturally tailored, systems-focused suicide prevention and intervention efforts.