Miami Gardens officers found her hanging, while her foster parents were asleep in their bedroom. They tried to resuscitate her, as did a fire-rescue crew. All efforts to revive Naika were unsuccessful and she was taken to Jackson North Hospital, Burks said.
PREVENTING BLACK YOUTH SUICIDE [VIDEO]:
Promoting Wellness & Preventing Suicide In Black Youth
Posted by BlackDoctor.org on Wednesday, September 14, 2016
In 2016, researchers found that suicide rates have doubled for Black children while declining for White children. This are the first recorded data in history for which Black suicide rates surpass that of other race groups.
Researchers looked at the suicide rates among children ages 5 to 11 between 1993 and 2012. The rates overall did not change over these years, but the rates among black boys rose from 1.78 to 3.47 per 1 million.
The suicide rates among girls, although about five times lower than those for boys, followed the same racial trend. The rates among black girls increased from 0.68 to 1.23 per 1 million, although the rise was not statistically significant. Meanwhile the rates among white girls appeared to be stable, at about 0.25 per million.
While suicide is pretty rare in most kids before puberty, African American children tend to go through puberty at a younger age. Research suggests that children are more likely to harm themselves after puberty.