Making Deep-Structure Adaptations

A Community-Engaged Qualitative Study for Culturally Adapting Suicide Prevention Interventions for Black Youth

Richardson, Sonyia C.
Phipps-Bennett, Margaret
Gryglewicz, Kim
Vance, Michelle
Williams, John A. III
Bey, Isis
Herbert, Rehaana
Dennis, Sara
Karver, Marc S.

School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
School of Social Work, University of Central Florida
Department of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Department of Teaching, Learning, and Culture, Texas A&M University
Department of Public Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Department of Psychology, University of South Florida

Aerika Brittian Loyd served as action editor.

This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health under Grant R34MH129782. The opinions reflect those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of NIMH. The authors acknowledge the support of the Community Collaborative Board for this study.

Sonyia C. Richardson played a lead role in conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, funding acquisition, methodology, project administration, resources, supervision, validation, and writing–original draft and an equal role in investigation and writing–review and editing. Margaret Phipps-Bennett played a lead role in formal analysis, a supporting role in investigation, project administration, resources, validation, and writing–review and editing, and an equal role in writing–original draft. Kim Gryglewicz played a lead role in supervision and writing–review and editing, a supporting role in funding acquisition and project administration, and an equal role in conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, and methodology. Michelle Vance played a supporting role in conceptualization, formal analysis, funding acquisition, investigation, methodology, and writing–review and editing. John A. Williams III played a supporting role in formal analysis, methodology, and writing–review and editing. Isis Bey played a supporting role in validation and writing–review and editing. Rehaana Herbert played a supporting role in writing–review and editing. Sara Dennis played a supporting role in writing–review and editing and an equal role in data curation. Marc S. Karver played a supporting role in conceptualization and writing–review and editing.

Sonyia C. Richardson, School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 325 Pittsboro Street No. 3550, Chapel Hill, NC 27516, United States [email protected]

Received August 3, 2024

revised May 23, 2025

Accepted June 25, 2025

Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology Publish Ahead of Print, September 1, 2025. | DOI: 10.1037/cdp0000770

Objectives: This study responds to the suicide crisis among Black youth populations by tailoring suicide interventions to meet their specific cultural needs. We obtained insight from community stakeholders about culturally adapting suicide prevention interventions for Black youth, using the Linking Individuals Needing Care intervention as an example. Method: Using a culturally adaptive qualitative design Process, we conducted a series of community-engaged focus groups over 6 months with four distinct participant groups of diverse genders, including Black youth ages 13–19, caregivers, community members, and providers. Our participants (N = 58) provided feedback on intervention adaptations in a reiterative process aligned with the Ecological Validity Model. Results: We found recommendations for deep-structure-level cultural adaptations versus surface-structure-level adaptations. Themes included (1) Using wellness and collective focused language, (2) Prioritizing mutual trust, (3) Disrupting and reframing cultural myths, (4) Integrating Black-focused content to validate identities, (5) Affirming Black youth and family protective factors and stressors, (6) Developing relevant and attainable youth and family goals, (7) Infusing culture into crisis planning, and (8) Creating a Black-centered community of care. Findings illuminate the need for a focus on racial socialization and validating the strengths of Black youth versus their struggles, which is meaningful for suicide prevention efforts. Conclusions: For suicide prevention intervention design with Black youth, community feedback needs to be prioritized, deep-structure level adaptations included, and racial socialization content embedded.

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