Suicide in Black American College Students, Article Critique Example

The purpose of this article was to provide nascent literature on suicide and resilience among Africa-American students by examining the elements that may lead to less suicidal behavior in this population. The authors of the article hypothesized that life satisfaction, religious awareness, and reasons for living are some of the factors that reduce suicide rates. Lack of life satisfaction and depression were the leading factors in promoting suicides in this population. This article also intended to instill hope among Africa-American college student in an era of racial disparities and social unrest. The overall goal of this article is to guide this population on ways of coping with life situations, and, as a result to reduce suicide rates.

The three authors of this article, Mei-Chuan Wang, Pius Nyutu, and Kimberly Tran, are all lecturers at Fayetteville State University. They are associate professors, licensed professional counselors, and licensed psychologists. At the university, they research on positive psychological factors like psychological well-being, social support, and coping, and their inter-relationships with psychological distresses such as depression and suicidal ideation among racial minorities.

The abstract of the article is limited in scope. It reflects on only three factors that predict suicidal behavior, namely life satisfaction, reasons for living, and religious awareness. It neglects other factors such as poverty, cultural differences, drug and substance abuse, and family history, which are believed to be the main factors. Other previous research show that low economic empowerment is the leading factor in promoting rates of suicide among black American. Additionally, it assumes that women are more affected by religious factors than men are. This relative statement can change with change in study population.

This article relates to ethical theories of psychological counseling because it considers the morality aspects of black Americans. It considers religion and its roles in minimizing the rates of suicide. It also discusses the importance of life satisfaction as well as its repercussions. It gives tips on living healthy and depression-free life. Additionally, it prompts all college students to have reasons for living. This will enable them to live a life with specifies goals, dreams, and aspirations. This implies living positively and unperturbed by life’s unlikely and unpleasant events such as poverty and racial discrimination. It recommends therapeutic techniques to those individuals who are contemplating on suicide

The authors conclude this article by counseling the black Americans on ways of reducing suicide rates. First, myths and stigma that suicide contradicts cultural role and gender expectations should be disregarded. Such stigmas include; black American men are virile and cannot take their lives, and black American women are resilient and strong and cannot crack under pressure. They are also encouraged to pay regular visits to mental hospitals. In addition, the entire society should be on the lookout for any suicidal behavior such as withdrawal and acute depression. Individuals suffering from such symptoms should be advised to seek medical attention. Black Americans must accept the facts about these suicide rates, a factor that will help to reduce this menace. Above all, strong liaisons should be developed at community level to ensure that issues of all individuals are addressed.

References

Wang, M.C., Nyutu, P.N., & Tran, K.K. (2012). Coping, Reasons for Living, and Suicide in Black College Students. Journal of Counseling and Development: JCD, 90(10), 459-466.