Impact of Familial Factors and Psychopathology on Suicidality Among African American Adolescents.

Racial differences in familial factors, psychopathology, perceptions of social support, and socioeconomic status were examined in a matched sample of African American and White suicidal adolescents (N = 90) during a psychiatric hospitalization. Exploratory analyses suggest that significant differences were found in family support and its association with psychopathology, but most noteworthy were the many similarities between the two adolescent groups. The results presented in this study represent new knowledge on the characteristics of African-American adolescents at high risk of suicidal behavior, and replace conventional wisdom with empirical knowledge about an aspect of human behavior for this population. Implications for social work practice, suicide prevention, and future research are discussed.