Current Studies

The Youth Suicide Study aims to understand the daily stressors that might affect suicidal thoughts and actions among Black youth. The goal is to help create better programs to prevent suicide among Black teens and young adults. This research is particularly crucial given that the suicide rate among Black teens has risen by 60% in the past decade.

Eligibility Criteria:

You are eligible if all of the following characteristics describe you:

• 12 – 24 years of age,
• Identify as Black or African American,
• Own a smartphone,
• Speak English well,
• Have seen a doctor in the past two years for a mental health issue, and
• Will be in the US for the entire 7-day period of the study.

The Roots of Resilience project aims to develop and pilot a culturally adapted suicide prevention training tailored specifically for Black youth and their caregivers in the Bay Area. This is important because there has been a 116% increase in Black youth suicide rates in California from 2014 to 2023, but many suicide prevention curriculums do not adequately address the cultural, familial, and contextual realities of Black youth or their caregivers.​

Eligibility Criteria:

You are eligible if any of the following criteria apply to you:

• A Black youth ages 12-17,
• A parent of Black youth ages 12-17, or
• A professional who works with with Black youth ages 12-17.

The goal of SAFE AI is to develop scalable, developmentally responsive digital suicide prevention tools for diverse youth that can operate within a real-time, just-in-time adaptive framework. ​We are co-creating a chatbot prototype to better provide culturally tailored, personalized messaging during crisis.

Eligibility Criteria:

You are eligible if either of the following criteria apply to you:

• 12-24 years of age, or
• A parent or caregiver of youth ages 12-24.

This study aims to map qualitative peer-reviewed and gray literature related to the sociocultural, structural, transgenerational, and other contextual factors shaping suicide risk, meaning making, and protective factors across sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, this study aims to:

1. Describe contextual factors associated with increased suicide risk. 
2. Describe protective contextual factors associated with decreased suicide risk.
3. Describe the interaction of factors associated with suicide risk and mitigation.
4. Describe theoretical foundations driving suicide and suicide research.

We will also be doing in-country capacity building with our community partner LeBoHA.