The Professional Counselor | Volume 13, Issue 4 437 These environmental stressors, along with psychological factors, including depression, post-traumatic stress, suicide, racism, and substance-using peers, exacerbate Black youth’s vulnerability to worsened mental health problems, including depression and suicide. According to the AAKOMA Project, Black youth experience significant anxiety related to decision-making and worrying about bad events happening (Breland-Noble, 2023). King et al. (2022) explained that depression symptomatology can be one of the driving forces behind cannabis use for coping in Black youth and can thus result in more frequent cannabis use. Not only are Black youth experiencing severe challenges associated with SES, education, housing, and mental health, but suicide rates among Black youth have increased sharply (Lindsey et al., 2019; Stone et al., 2023). Race-Based Trauma Black youth, particularly in urban environments, report high incidences of exposure to interpersonal trauma (Henderson, 2017). Relatedly, racial trauma due to systemic racism, including discriminatory practices, racial profiling, and unequal access to opportunities, is a critical factor that negatively affects Black youth’s mental well-being (J. C. Williams et al., 2019). Constant exposure to racial discrimination can lead to feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, and depression (Mouzon & McLean, 2017). Saleem et al. (2020) explained that racial trauma can significantly contribute to high rates of trauma among Black youth. Schools are often one of the first sites where Black youth experience racial trauma and its physical, psychological, and spiritual consequences (Marie & Watson, 2020). Suicide According to data from the CDC, from 2018 to 2021, the largest increase in suicides among people 10–24 years old was Black individuals, with an increase of 37%. This rise in suicide among Black youth has been increasing for over two decades (Stone et al., 2023). Furthermore, between 1991 and 2017, suicide attempts among Black adolescents increased by 73%, while attempts among White youth decreased, according to an analysis of more than 198,000 high school students nationwide (Lindsey et al., 2019). Furthermore, according to AACAP, suicide rates among Black youth have risen faster than in any other racial/ethnic group over the past two decades, with suicide rates in Black males 10–19 years old increasing by 60% (AACAP, 2023). Additionally, early adolescent Black youth are twice as likely to die by suicide as compared to their White counterparts (AACAP, 2023). Even among the youngest children—ages 5–12—research has found that Black youth in this age category were approximately twice as likely to die by suicide than their White counterparts (Stone et al., 2023). According to The Trevor Project (2020), 44% of Black LGBTQ youth seriously considered suicide in the past 12 months, including 59% of Black transgender and nonbinary youth. Furthermore, 17% of Black LGBTQ youth attempted suicide in the past 12 months, including more than one in four Black transgender and nonbinary youth. Nearly twice as many Black LGBTQ youth ages 13–17 attempted suicide in the past 12 months compared to Black LGBTQ youth ages 18–24 (The Trevor Project, 2020). Despite these clear indicators of underlying issues, instead of being perceived as youth with potential cannabis use disorders trying to cope with a myriad of emotional, psychological, and socioeconomic challenges, Black youth who use cannabis are often perceived as pathologically deficient (McElrath et al., 2016) and deserving of punitive treatment approaches such as being referred to the criminal justice system. Hence, the JJS has become the de facto “drug treatment” system for Black youth with substance use disorders (SUDs) in the United States (M. E. Johnson et al., 2022).
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