Future Directions in Suicide Prevention Among Black Youth: A Call for Culturally Grounded Strengths-Based Approaches

Suicide represents an escalating public health crisis among Black youth. Despite decades of research on suicide, dominant prevention and intervention models remain grounded in deficit-oriented paradigms and evidence derived primarily from White populations. These approaches insufficiently account for the sociocultural and structural determinants shaping Black youths’ risk and resilience, contributing to persistent disparities and underscoring the urgent need for a fundamental shift toward culturally grounded, strengths-based frameworks. In response, this article synthesizes recent empirical evidence to (a) summarize epidemiological trends and theoretical gaps in current Black youth suicide prevention science, (b) discuss culturally grounded protective factors that prevent suicide, and (c) evaluate contemporary intervention approaches and their limitations. Building on this synthesis, we advance the REA2CT Knowledge-to-Action Framework consisting of six recommendations that we view as critical for transforming the field. Knowledge priorities include (1) reorient suicide theory and research toward strengths-based approaches, (2) examine racism as a determinant of suicide risk, and (3) address critical knowledge gaps in developmental and intersectional mechanisms of suicide risk. Action priorities include (1) activate families and communities as co-healers, (2) center youth as co-creators in research, and (3) transform clinical assessment and care through culturally-grounded practices. These recommendations offer novel directions for researchers, clinicians, funding agencies, policymakers, and other key stakeholders and are intended to facilitate a paradigmatic transformation positioning Black youths’ capacity for resilience and thriving as axiomatic.