Online racism is linked to PTSD symptoms in Black youth, study finds
Online racism was linked to PTSD symptoms in Black teens, and PTSD symptoms are linked to suicidal thoughts. Mental health experts want to fight rising suicide rates in Black youth.
Mounting evidence shows the devastating toll online racism takes on Black youth.
According to a study published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, Black children and teens who experience racial discrimination online may develop symptoms related to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Those PTSD symptoms, the researchers found, were also potentially linked to suicidal thoughts.
The suicide rates of Black youth have risen over the past two decades, said study co-author Ashley Denise Maxie-Moreman, PhD, a pediatric clinical psychologist at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.
A 2023 report from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that from 2007 to 2020, the suicide rate in Black children and teens ages 10 to 17 increased by 144% — the fastest increase compared to other racial and ethnic groups.
Rating: 5