Piloting a Culturally Adapted Suicide Prevention for Black Students in Chicago (SP-BSC)

The University of Chicago

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Suicide Attempt; Suicidal Ideation; Suicide

Treatments: Behavioral: Signs of Suicide: Standard/Existing; Behavioral: Black Youth Suicide Prevention in Chicago

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT07125144

R34MH129789 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

Suicide has been the third leading cause of death for Black youth in the U.S since the 1980s and persists as a leading cause of death for Black youth today. For example, in 2018 suicide was reported as the 2nd leading cause of death among Black Americans ages 10 to14 years old. Findings yielded from recent queries indicate that the gap in suicides among Black males and female youth has narrowed in recent years. Despite these disturbing trends, a dearth persists in our understanding of the factors that contribute to and prevent against suicide in Black youth, thus diminishing researchers' ability to effectively detect suicide risk in this particular population. This project aims to redress this gap by proposing the cultural adaptation of an existing suicide prevention intervention, the Signs of Suicide (SOS) prevention program, for Black middle school students. Our team will conduct a pilot randomized controlled trial among a sample of Black middle school students to assess feasibility and

examine underlying mechanisms that contribute to suicidality among Black youth. Intervention content will be adapted to assess how topics of racial identity, racial socialization, and racial discrimination uniquely impact Black youth's mental health experiences and risk for suicide. Measures of suicidal ideation, planning, and attempt will be assessed at pre-test, post-test, and 3-months after the intervention. Findings derived from this project will contribute to public health priorities by offering unique insight into the factors that either prevent or promote suicide among Black youth and could be replicated in other schools serving Black students across the nation.

Enrollment: 300 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 11 to 15 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Enrolled in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade at a participating school

Exclusion criteria

• Not enrolled in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade at a participating school

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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300 participants in 2 patient groups

Standard/Existing Intervention

Active Comparator group

Description:

Students attending schools assigned to the Standard/Existing Intervention condition will receive the existing Signs of Suicide intervention.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Signs of Suicide: Standard/Existing

Culturally Adapted Intervention

Experimental group

Description:

Students attending schools assigned to the Culturally Adapted Intervention condition will receive a new culturally adapted intervention developed for this study.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Black Youth Suicide Prevention in Chicago