The Association Between College Enrollment and Suicide Attempts by Race and Ethnicity

Little is known about how race and ethnicity influence the association between college enrollment and past-year suicide attempts. In this brief report, the relationship between college enrollment and past-year suicide attempts varied across racial groups in a nationally representative sample of 12,474 full-time college enrolled and unenrolled young adults. Only White students displayed a protective association between enrollment and past-year suicide attempts (aOR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.17, 0.62). Race and ethnicity significantly moderated the relationship between enrollment and past-year suicide attempts for Black/African American (P = 0.003) and multiracial (P = 0.03) compared to White young adults.