Preventing Suicide in African American Adolescents

Participants randomized to the experimental condition will take part in the Adapted Coping with Stress Course (A-CWS). The A-CWS is a 15-session, cognitive-behavioral group intervention designed to develop and enhance African American youths' skills to adaptively cope with stress, using standard cognitive-behavioral strategies such as relaxation training and cognitive restructuring. Emphasis is given to the identification of individual and contextual factors associated with suicide risk and the unique day-to-day experiences of the youth, providing options for adaptive coping (e.g., positive thinking) that are culturally consistent. The A-CWS is structured and manualized to allow its transportability to service providers working in similar environments with similar youth.

Students meeting criteria for study inclusion and randomized into the standard care condition will be referred to the school-based health center (SBHC) mental health provider for case management. Standard care may range from (1) brief intervention by the SBHC mental health provider to (2) outside referral to local community service providers; these determinations will be made by the SBHC mental health team.