ABSTRACT

Purpose: Suicide among African Americans has increased significantly in the past 15 years, yet it remains a neglected topic in social work research. This systematic review examines social work’s contribution to suicide research while focusing on the social context in which African Americans live.

Method: Using a critical race theory, we examine protective factors specific to African Americans that may mitigate suicide risks. Results reveal that the social work profession has produced 20 suicide-related studies between 1980 and 2018.

Results: Identify three types of protective factors against suicide among African Americans. These are: micro-level factors (private regard / strong African American identity and impulsive response to discrimination), mezzo-level factors (family support and the role of women), and macro-level factors (social support, poverty and lack of awareness, religion, access to care, and internal response to community violence).

Conclusion: Finding demonstrate evidence of the relationship between protective factors and suicide among African Americans. Implications for the use of Critical Race Theory in Social Work research and practice are provided along with implications to advance suicide training in social work education programs.

摘要

目的：在过去的 15 年中，非裔美国人的自杀率显着增加，但它仍然是社会工作研究中被忽视的话题。这篇系统综述考察了社会工作对自杀研究的贡献，同时关注非裔美国人生活的社会背景。

方法：使用批判性种族理论，我们研究了可能减轻自杀风险的非裔美国人特有的保护因素。结果显示，社会工作专业在 1980 年至 2018 年间进行了 20 项与自杀相关的研究。

结果：确定非裔美国人中防止自杀的三种类型的保护因素。它们是：微观层面的因素（私人关注/强烈的非裔美国人身份认同和对歧视的冲动反应）、中层层面的因素（家庭支持和女性的角色）和宏观层面的因素（社会支持、贫困和缺乏认识） 、宗教、获得护理的机会以及对社区暴力的内部反应）。

结论：发现证明了非裔美国人保护因素与自杀之间关系的证据。提供了在社会工作研究和实践中使用批判种族理论的意义，以及在社会工作教育计划中推进自杀培训的意义。