One example she gave was cognitive behavioral therapy, which is used to challenge distorted thinking, or mental filters or biases that make individuals have negative feelings about themselves. “So, we need more school social workers and they can be incredibly helpful to ensuring that kids are being identified early when there is a challenge and connected to support from services early and often.”Ĭalhoun cautioned that some therapy approaches may be ineffective for Black children and teens dealing with racism. “Social workers are the largest provider of mental health services,” Lindsey said. Schoolteachers and social workers are also important in connecting Black youth to mental health services. This includes parents having an open dialogue with their children about the negative experiences they have online, at school or in their friend groups, Lindsey said. “It’s really scary to think that our Black youth could be having suicidal thoughts because of racist comments or racist memes or racist messages or racist chat groups that they are being exposed to online,” she said.Įxperts who spoke to NBC News said that there are several approaches that can be taken to help Black youth. Some of those regulatory actions include proactive monitoring and reduction of hate speech, Maxie-Moreman said. The study authors wrote that online platforms should be aware of the associations between online racial discrimination, PTSD and suicidal ideation and create safer spaces for Black teens. “I really think a primary driver of the declining mental health that we’re seeing in Black children are experiences of anti-Black racism,” Calhoun said, adding that “there is little to no standardized training in how do you help Black children to navigate being a Black child in America and experiencing racism.” Providing a community of support Calhoun also said that racial discrimination can be harmful for pregnant Black women and can result in low birth weights for infants, which puts babies more at risk for developing mental health issues in childhood and adulthood. Solnit integrated adult/child psychiatry program, said the high rates of suicide in Black children and teens stem from offline factors fueled by anti-Black racism, including adultification, criminalization and the success of punishment on Black children. Amanda Calhoun, chief resident of Yale University’s Albert J. Other experts agreed that the new findings underscore just how harmful experiencing racism - both online and offline - can be to Black youth.ĭr. The psychological effects of pervasive racism These include feelings of irritability, having a negative mood, poor sleep, detachment from others and individuals not wanting to enjoy activities they once enjoyed, said Simon, who was not involved with the new research. Kevin Simon, Boston’s first chief behavioral health officer and a pediatric psychiatrist at Boston Children’s Hospital, said symptoms of PTSD can often overlap with symptoms of depression, both of which are linked to suicidal thoughts. Maxie-Moreman said a larger study could help uncover whether there is a direct link between the two.ĭr. However, they didn’t find that experiencing online racism directly led to an increased likelihood of suicidal thoughts. The researchers found that children and teens who experienced racism online were more likely to report PTSD symptoms, and that those who developed PTSD symptoms were more likely to report suicidal thoughts. In response to online racism, the children and teens in the study reported several symptoms of PTSD, Maxie-Moreman said, including feeling on guard and isolated, having intrusive thoughts that won’t go away, and uncontrollable distress. (A separate study, in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, found that Black teens reported experiencing an average of five instances of racial discrimination per day.) The researchers looked at online racial discrimination directed specifically to an individual, such as a racist meme or messaging. The new study included data from 525 Black children and teens, ages 11 to 19, collected in late 2020. “But in particular, for our Black youth, cyberbullying in the form of online racial discrimination is a really big issue.” “We know that cyberbullying is an issue for all kiddos,” Maxie-Moreman said.
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