Coping in the Aftermath of Youth's Suicidal Behaviors: A Comparison of Black Mothers and White Mothers

• Published date: 01 February 2021
• Author: Otima Doyle,Bridget E. Weller,David B. Goldston,Alfiee M. Breland‐Noble,Sue E. Estroff,Stephanie S. Daniel,John F. Curry,Karen C. Wells
• Date: 01 February 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12484

O D University of Illinois, Chicago

B E. W Western Michigan University

D B. G Duke University Medical Center

A M. B-N Duke University Medical Center

S E. E University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

S S. D Wake Forest School of Medicine

J F. C  K C. W Duke University Medical Center

Coping in the Aftermath of Youth’s Suicidal

Behaviors: A Comparison of Black Mothers and

White Mothers

Objective: To better understand Black moth-

ers’ and White mothers’ qualitative reactions to

their adolescents’ hospitalizations due to suicide

attempts.

Background: Caregivers of youth with suicidal

behaviors play a vital role in youth’s subsequent

treatment and recovery. Yet little attention has

been paid to how they are affected by youth’s

psychiatric hospitalizations or how their reac-

tions may be inuenced by race.

Method: Twenty Black mothers (Mage =42.50;

SD =8.48) and 20 White mothers

(Mage =44.85; SD =6.86) were randomly

selected from data originally collected for a

larger longitudinal, mixed method, multisite

Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illi-

nois, Chicago, 1040 W. Harrison Street, Chicago, IL 60607

(doyleo@uic.edu).

Key Words: caregivers, psychiatric hospitalization, race,

SES, suicidal behavior.

study. Data analysis was informed by grounded

theory methodology.

Results: Four themes emerged from the data:

mothers’ emotional distress; mothers’ cop-

ing, needs, and supports; mothers’ perceived

need for increased monitoring; and improved

mother–child relationships.

Conclusions: Black mothers and White mothers

largely had similar reactionsto youth’s hospital-

izations; however, nuanced differences also were

noted regarding how they described their expe-

riences and what they emphasized.

Implications: During discharge planning,

mothers need additional support (beyond refer-

rals) in their roles as caregivers and for their

own coping. Additional clinical and research

implications are discussed.

Patients’ psychiatric hospitalizations have been

shown to impact caregivers, both positively and

negatively (Weller et al., 2015). This issue is

particularly important for caregivers of youth

Family Relations 70 (February 2021): 77–89 77

DOI:10.1111/fare.12484