Why Is Untreated ADHD Contributing to the Increasing Suicide Rate Among Black Youth?Short Video

 January 31, 2022—January 31, 2022

Historically, suicide has been higher among whites than any other racial group. Recent studies have shown this is true except for the growing rate of black youth who have now surpassed their white counterparts. The assumption would be that depression would be the major contributing factor to increased suicides. It has been seen that in many situations, families will report that the child never seemed to be depressed. New studies have shown that much of the increase has been correlated to ADHD and untreated learning disabilities. There has been a recent trend in the growing number of suicides in black youth and adolescents, but what is even more alarming is the rate of suicide among very young black children. Despite making up 15% of the population, black youth make up 37% of all youth suicides with the highest demographic being young black males. In this talk, we will pay key attention to how ADHD is contributing to the increased number of suicides in black youth and contributing factors to why this is happening now. Some of these include lack of access to mental health services, bullying, news media, social media, and racism. Also, we will discuss the barriers to treatment such as stigma and lack of access in the community that can be based on myths and facts of why many blacks delay mental health treatment. We will look at key factors other than depression that are contributing risk factors to the increased risk of suicide. Finally, we will discuss strategies to decrease risks and increase resilient factors in the community