ABSTRACT

Rates of suicide within the Black community are increasing. Rising rates, coupled with institutional racism, impacts how Black perceive suicide as a problem in their communities. This paper examines the misconceptions that Black Americans hold about the topic of suicide. The current project included data from 25 self-identifying Black adults living in Northeast Ohio. We used a thematic analysis approach to data analysis. Through in-depth interviews, we identified five themes that highlight prominent misconceptions about suicide in Northeast Ohio’s Black community: (1) suicide is related to personal inadequacies; (2) suicide is not a pressing issue in the Black community; (3) clashing perceptions of Blackness and the mentally ill; (4) mentally ill and hopeless; and (5) suicidal thoughts are crazy and will pass. These findings and implications for professionals and for community leaders and members are discussed in detail.

摘要

黑人社区的自杀率正在上升。上升的比率，加上制度上的种族主义，影响了黑人如何看待自杀是他们社区中的一个问题。本文探讨了美国黑人对自杀话题的误解。当前的项目包括来自居住在俄亥俄州东北部的 25 名自我认同的黑人成年人的数据。我们使用主题分析方法进行数据分析。通过深入访谈，我们确定了五个主题，这些主题突出了俄亥俄州东北部黑人社区对自杀的突出误解：(1) 自杀与个人能力不足有关；(2) 自杀在黑人社区不是一个紧迫的问题；(3) 对黑人和精神病患者的看法发生冲突；（四）患有精神病且生活无望的；(5) 自杀念头很疯狂，会过去的。