Rise in Suicide by Black Children Surprises Researchers

[KamaAina]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/19/health/suicide-rate-for-black-children-surged-in-2-decades-study-says.html

The suicide rate among black children has nearly doubled since the early 1990s, while the rate for white children has declined, a new study has found, an unusual pattern that seemed to suggest something troubling was happening among some of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.

Suicide among children ages 5 to 11, the age range the study measured, is rare, and researchers had to blend several years of data to get reliable results. The findings, which measured the period from 1993 to 2012, were so surprising that researchers waited for an additional year of data to check them. The trend did not change.

Suicide rates are almost always lower among blacks than among whites of any age. But the study, published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics on Monday, found that the rate had risen so steeply among black children — to 2.54 from 1.36 per one million children — that it was substantially above the rate among white children by the end of the period. The rate for white children fell to 0.77 per million from 1.14.

It was the first time a national study found a higher suicide rate for blacks than for whites of any age group, researchers noted.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. 5-11?

How in the hell does a 5 year old even know what suicide is? I'd be looking askew at any 5 year old's death certificate that said 'suicide'.

[bravenak]

2. I remember an 8 year old that put herself in front of a train and commited suicide.

Poor child was at the end of her rope apparently. This shit is sad.

[bravenak]

3. Damn. My bad, she was six.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1993-06-16/news/1993167165_1_jackie-gloria-wright-medical-examiner

[brer cat]

4. No words.

[bravenak]

5. Never forgot that since I was 12 or so at the time. I cried and cried over it.nt

[Igel]

6. Okay, let's get rid of the rates per million.

In 2010 there were 25.6 million kids aged 6-11.

I'm going to estimate 31 million aged 5-11.

In 2010 about 74% of kids under 17 were white, 16% were black. I'm rounding whites down and blacks up because younger means "less white", overall.



So about 5 million black kids, about 23 million white kids.

For whites, 0.77/million x 23 = 18 kids

For blacks, 2.54/million x 5 = 13 kids.

Give or take. There's no pretense to producing exactly the numbers.

The trend is disturbing. But the numbers are small. The suicides by hanging/suffocation make me wonder what, exactly, is going on.

[progressoid]

7. Sad rec.

[JI7]

8. i would like info on the background of the kids

if there is any pattern of things like abuse or anything else.

i can't even see how a 5 year old would think of doing something like this. is it really the same as those who are older ? maybe they saw or read about something and don't think it's permanent .