African-American male adolescents face disproportionate risk for death or injury resulting from assaultive violence. This article presents a public health framework for examining the problem and developing interventions. A brief interdisciplinary review of research is provided on the nature and extent of the problem, its etiology, and current approaches to prevention. Attention is called to intra- and intergroup differences in patterns among White and ethnic minority youth and to specific theories and research about assaultive violence among young African-American men. Emerging imperatives in the search for solutions are identified, emphasizing the need for cultural sensitivity in the design of preventive interventions and an expanded role for psychologists in the public health response to this critical health problem.

Homicide and nonfatal injuries resulting from interpersonal violence are significant contributors to the excess early mortality and morbidity of African-American youth. Although there is growing recognition of the need for prevention programs specifically directed to these youth, culturally relevant programs to reduce aggression and victimization in high-risk racial and ethnic groups are virtually nonexistent. This article reports preliminary findings of a program to train African-American adolescents in social skills, an approach which shows promise as a means of preventing violence. The pilot study suggests a need for continued research on this and other prevention approaches to reduce the disproportionate-and preventable-risk of injury or death for this vulnerable population.

Rationale for Conducting the Study Shortages of Minority Clinical Psychology Students and PractitionersThe continued underrepresentation of ethnic minorities at all levels of psychology training and practice and in all subfields is well documented. Recent estimates of all doctoral-level psychologists in the work force show no overall increase in the participation of ethnic minorities over the past 10 years, with census data placing that figure at slightly more than 5% (Kohout & Pion, 1990). Surveys focusing only on the number of ethnic minorities engaged in clinical psychology practice have suggested a representation of between 2% and 5.1% (Hammond, 1988a(Hammond, , 1988b Office of Comprehensive Health Planning, 1989;Stapp, Tucker, & VandenBos, 1985).Data on recently awarded doctorates indicate some progress in improving equitable participation in psychology training programs. Figures from the National Research Council (1988) indicate that 11.4% of clinical psychology doctorates awarded went to ethnic minorities. However, this was less than the percentage of doctorates awarded to minorities in all science and engineering fields (12.1%), in all social science fields (12.7%), in education (14.7%), in business (15.4%), and in the total for all fields (13.8%). Further, demographic projections indicate that by the year 2000 ethnic minorities will constitute about one third of the nation's population (American Council on Education, 1988). Thus, to achieve a more appropriate representation, graduation rates of ethnic minority students would need to triple from their present level.According to current enrollment patterns in clinical psychology training programs, this cannot be expected to happen without significant new efforts to attract, enroll, retain, and graduate substantially larger numbers of minority students. In a recent survey of graduate programs in psychology, the enrollment of minority students in all clinical and other health provider subfields was slightly more then 10% at the doctoral level (Pion, Kohout, & Wickerski, 1989). Schools of professional psychology are a growing source for production of clinical practi-This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

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Hopelessness is associated with suicide. Hopelessness has been associated with life experiences, social-environmental, and biological factors. Racial differences exist in these factors and in coping behaviors. Better understanding racial differences in hopelessness and suicide may result in more effective interventions to slow the increasing Black American suicide rate. Data from a case-control study of nearly lethal suicide attempters were analyzed. Interaction results from logistic regression suggest that the effect of hopelessness on a nearly lethal suicide attempt may differ for Black and White Americans. Hopelessness was strongly associated with a nearly lethal suicide attempt for Blacks and Whites, but the odds were greater for Blacks than Whites. Interventions may need to be adjusted to address the difference.