In Black Suicide Herbert Hendin, a psychoanalyst, sought to determine why young black males in the New York City ghetto committed suicide twice as often as whites of the same age.

Using as explorative tools the analytic interview and a test battery, the author carefully and sensitively investigated the motivation of twenty-five young black men and women who had attempted suicide. His aim was to discover whether higher suicidal rates for black males were a predictable consequence of such factors as early maternal deprivation, fewer opportunities for paternal identification, the despair and violence associated with racial self-rejection, and depression associated with black ghetto frustrations. Hendin's data, which included statistical information, extensive case history material, and psychological evaluations, did not clearly establish that the life style of blacks led to their higher incidence of suicide.