Perceived racial discrimination on the change of suicide risk among ethnic minorities in the United States

Objective: Suicide ideation and attempts are serious public health concerns in the U.S. Previous studies focus mainly on individual factors that cause suicide and therefore, it is imperative to examine the impact of the environment on the onset of suicide risk. This study explored the effects of perceived race/ethnicity-based discrimination (PD; perceived institutional discrimination and perceived interpersonal discrimination) on the change in suicidal thoughts and attempts among racial/ethnic minority (REM) participants at risk for depression over time using a longitudinal nationally representative dataset. Design and methods: The sample consisted a total of 1,253 REM participants from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions Wave 1 and 2 datasets. Participants were categorized into three conditions: (1) no suicidal thoughts/attempts at Wave 1, who were at risk for onset of suicidal thoughts at Wave 2, (2) no suicidal thoughts/attempts at Wave 1, who were at risk for onset of both suicidal thoughts and attempts at Wave 2, and (3) had suicidal thoughts but no attempts at Wave 1, who were at risk for initiating suicidal attempt at Wave 2. Three logistic regressions were performed to examine the associations between PD and the three suicidal conditions, controlling for sociodemographic factors. Results: Regression results showed that perceived institutional discrimination predicted onset of suicidal thoughts for Condition 1 (OR = 1.67, 95% CI:1.05-2.66) and initiation of suicidal attempts for Condition 2 (OR = 2.67, 95% CI:1.30-5.48), whereas perceived interpersonal discrimination predicted onset of suicidal thoughts and attempts for Condition 1 (OR = 2.34, 95% CI:1.17-4.66). Conclusions: PD may have detrimental effects on suicidal behaviors among REM individuals with depressive symptoms. Development of suicide prevention programs needs to take into account PD and be specific for different at-risk groups. This also foregrounds the importance of promoting anti-discrimination policies/programs as a suicide preventive intervention for REM individuals with depressive symptoms.