Report: Suicide Rate for Young Black Children Has Doubled in Recent Decades

A concerning new study published this week in the journal JAMA Pediatrics has found that in the last 20 years, the suicide rate among young black children—ages 5-11—has almost doubled. At the same time, the number of suicides among young white children has dropped. Though incidents of suicide among children at such a young age are extremely uncommon, the numbers surprised and alarmed researchers, as noted in a report in The New York Times. Though the cause for the shift was unclear, according to The Times, research “offered a few possible explanations for the difference, including that black children are more likely to be exposed to violence and traumatic stress, and that black children are more likely to experience an early onset of puberty, which can increase the risk of depression and impulsive aggression” …