Sean Joe is a nationally recognized authority on suicidal behavior among Black Americans, and is expanding the evidence base for effective practice with Black boys and young men. His research focuses on Black adolescents’ mental health service use patterns, the role of religion in Black suicidal behavior, salivary biomarkers for suicidal behavior, and development of father-focused, family-based interventions to prevent urban African American adolescent males from engaging in multiple forms of self-destructive behaviors.
Working within the Center for Social Development, Joe has launched the Race and Opportunity Lab, which examines race, opportunity, and social mobility in the St. Louis region, working to reduce inequality in adolescents transition into adulthood. The lab leading community science project is HomeGrown STL, which is a multi-systemic placed-based capacity building intervention to enhance upward mobility opportunities and health of Black males ages 12-29 years in the St. Louis region. Joe’s epistemological work focuses on the concept of race in medical and social sciences.
He serves on the Steering Committee of the national Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) and the National Advisory Council of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Forward Promise initiative.
In recognition of the impact of his work, Joe was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, the Society for Social Work and Research, and the New York Academy of Medicine.
Sean Joe
- Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development
- Office Phone: 314-935-6145
- Email: sjoe@wustl.edu
Areas of Focus:
- Black male social mobility
- Black suicidal behavior
- Community Organizing Intervention Research
- Father-focused family-based interventions
- Community Science
In The News
Sherraden to Receive Distinguished Career Achievement Award
December 19, 2022
HomeGrown StL Wins Social Justice Innovation Award
October 13, 2022
Regional Steering Committee Named To Enhance Efforts For Black Boys, Young Men In St. Louis
November 15, 2021
Brown School Presentations at APHA 2021
October 25, 2021
Brown School Partners with STL Mayor’s Office to “Transform” Public Safety
September 2, 2021
The Brown School’s International Center for Child Health and Development Builds a Pipeline of Researchers from Underrepresented Backgrounds
April 8, 2021
Brown School’s Race and Opportunity Lab recommends specific policing reforms
July 1, 2020
Professor Sean Joe Wants to Change the Lives of Young Black Men in St. Louis
February 8, 2020
Featured Publications
What Works for Adolescent Black Males at Risk of Suicide
Research on Social Work Practice
March 1 2018
Suicide risk among urban children
Children and Youth Services Review
September 2016
12-month and lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts among black adolescents in the National Survey of American Life.
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
March 1 2009