# Investigating Suicide Risk and Protective Factors among Economically Disadvantaged, Preteen Black Youth

> **NIH NIH R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $640,196

## Abstract

Suicide among Black preadolescents has increased rapidly over the last two decades, reaching unprecedented
levels. While there have been substantive gains in knowledge related to the etiology of preadolescent suicide
ideation and behaviors (SIB), most of this work has included predominantly White samples or have been cross-
sectional or short-term longitudinal studies. Less is known about the course of SIB during preadolescence, and
malleable individual-specific and social ecological precursors and correlates associated with this course, among
low-income, urban Black youth. Such work is vital to informing developmentally and culturally relevant preventive
interventions aimed at mitigating this major public health problem. The proposed R01 seeks to characterize the
epidemiology and course of SIB among a socioeconomically disadvantaged, urban sample of Black
preadolescents, and to identify factors that confer risk or protection for SIB over time in this understudied
population. To do this, we will build on data collection that occurred as part of a cluster randomized preventive
intervention trial (DA039869) conducted in 48 urban elementary schools with ~5,000 economically
disadvantaged K-2 students of which 2,100 are Black and will be between the ages of 10-12 in the fall of 2024.
The proposed 4-year longitudinal study seeks to accomplish the following aims: characterize the severity and
course of SIB during pre- and early adolescence in a random stratified sub-sample of 1,000 Black youth drawn
from the larger sample of 2,100. Urban, economically disadvantaged Black youth represent a disproportionately
understudied population in preadolescent SIB research (Aim 1); identify risk and protective individual (i.e.,
mental health), proximal and distal environments (e.g., life events, racial discrimination), as well as macro-level
factors (e.g., structural racism) that may be associated with the emergence and progression of SIB (Aim 2); and
determine whether the early elementary school-based universal preventive interventions targeting emotion
regulation and social problem-solving result in reduced engagement in SIB across the preadolescent and early
adolescent years (Aim 3). In addition, in Years 2 and 3 we will draw 2 random stratified sub-samples from the
larger sub-sample of 1,000 to conduct 2 pilot studies encompassing observations of parent-child interactions
(e.g., communication, conflict) and qualitative interviews aimed at better understanding Black youth’s
experiences and coping with racial discrimination. The consideration of multi-level influences and our multi-modal
approach to assessing these influences through the inclusion of quantitative and qualitative assessments will
provide a better understanding of the risk and protective factors that have otherwise been unmeasured and/or
missed in current research. The investigative team brings together expertise in the etiology, epidemiology, and
prevention of SIB among Black preadolescence; child ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10983588
- **Project number:** 1R01MH137697-01
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** NICHOLAS S IALONGO
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $640,196
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-16 → 2028-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10983588

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10983588, Investigating Suicide Risk and Protective Factors among Economically Disadvantaged, Preteen Black Youth (1R01MH137697-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10983588. Licensed CC0.

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