A Longitudinal Study of Racial Discrimination and Risk for Death Ideation in African American Youth

Although multiple studies have found that African Americans commonly experience racial discrimination, available studies have yet to examine how perceived racism might be related to suicide vulnerability in African American youth. The purpose of this study was to examine a framework for how perceived racial discrimination contributes to symptoms of depression and anxiety as well as subsequent suicide ideation and morbid ideation. Data were obtained from 722 African American youth at mean age 10.56 years (SD = 0.64); a second wave of data was obtained 2 years later. Results revealed both a direct effect and mediated effects of perceived racism on later suicide and morbid ideation. For boys and girls, the effect of perceived racism was mediated by symptoms of depression. However, the association was mediated by anxiety for girls, but not for boys in the current sample. Implications for future research and interventions are discussed.     

The Complexity of Ethnic Identity Among Jewish American Emerging Adults

Jewish Americans may grapple with issues of ethnic identity differently than the larger White American group. Drawn from a large multisite sample (N = 8,501), 280 Jewish American (207 female, 73 male) emerging adults were compared with White American and ethnic minority samples on ethnic and U.S. identity. Jewish Americans rated themselves as significantly higher on measures of ethnic and U.S. identity compared with White Americans but not as highly as ethnic minorities. Ethnic identity search, affirmation, and resolution also predicted higher self-esteem for Jewish Americans, similar to the pattern for other ethnic groups. In addition, ethnic identity search and affirmation moderated the link between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms among Jewish Americans.     

Trajectories of perceived adult and peer discrimination among Black, Latino, and Asian American adolescents: patterns and psychological correlates

This article presents results from a 3-year longitudinal study of the growth patterns and correlates of perceived discrimination by adults and by peers among Black, Latino, and Asian American high school students. Results revealed a linear increase over time in levels of perceived discrimination by adults, whereas perceptions of discrimination by peers remained stable over time. Asian American and non-Puerto Rican Latino adolescents (primarily Dominican) reported higher levels of peer and/or adult discrimination than did Puerto Rican youth, whereas Black adolescents reported a steeper increase over time in levels of perceived discrimination by peers and by adults than did Puerto Rican adolescents. Peer and adult discrimination was significantly associated with decreased self-esteem and increased depressive symptoms over time. Ethnic identity and ethnicity were found to moderate the relationships between perceived discrimination and changes in psychological well-being over time. Results underscore the need to include perceptions of discrimination when studying the development and well-being of ethnic minority adolescents.     

Associations of ethnic discrimination with symptoms of anxiety and depression among Hispanic emerging adults: a moderated mediation model

Background and Objectives: Emerging adulthood is often marked with elevated symptoms of anxiety and depression. Hispanic emerging adults may face cultural stressors such as ethnic discrimination that further increase levels of anxiety and depression symptoms. The study aims were to examine if (a) self-esteem mediated effects of ethnic discrimination on symptoms of anxiety and depression, and (b) if gender moderated the indirect effects of discrimination. Design: The study design was cross-sectional self-report. Method: Two moderated mediation models were tested, with 1084 Hispanic emerging adults (ages 18–25) enrolled in institutions of post-secondary in the United States. Results: Results indicated that (a) higher ethnic discrimination was associated with higher anxiety symptoms (β?=?.05, p?=?.04), higher depression symptoms (β?=?.06, p?=?.02), and lower self-esteem (β?=??.30, p?Conclusions: Findings suggest that the mediating effects of self-esteem linking ethnic discrimination with symptoms of anxiety and depression vary between genders.     

Predicting Suicide Attempts for Racial and Ethnic Groups of Patients During Routine Clinical Care

The aim of this study was to examine variation in suicide ideation and its relationship to risk of suicide attempt in the subsequent 90 days by race and ethnicity. Participants were adults who completed the Patient Health Questionnaire depression module (PHQ9) during an outpatient encounter between January 10, 2010, and December 12, 2012 (N = 509,945 patients; N = 1,228,308 completed PHQ9). Data came from the Virtual Data Warehouse from four health care systems in the Mental Health Research Network. The sample was majority female (73.7%), primarily 30–64 years old (60.1%), healthy (64.5% comorbidity index = 0), and over half were non‐Hispanic White (52.9%). Only Asian patients (OR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.24, 1.39) had higher odds of reporting suicide ideation when compared to non‐Hispanic White people. All racial and ethnic groups had increased risk for suicide attempt with increased frequency of suicide ideation. The PHQ9 item 9 can be used as an indicator of suicide ideation and risk for suicide attempt up to 90 days after the reported ideation in racial and ethnic minority patients during routine clinical care.     

Asian American college students' suicide ideation: a mixed-methods study

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore the phenomenon of suicide ideation among 293 Asian American college students. Guided by T. Joiner's (2005) interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior, the authors examined the relationships among perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, self-construals, and suicide ideation. Compared with thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness was a more robust predictor of suicide ideation. However, thwarted belongingness moderated the positive association between perceived burdensomeness and suicide ideation. Furthermore, interdependent self-construal and independent self-construal both weakened the link between perceived burdensomeness and suicide ideation and between thwarted belongingness and suicide ideation. The authors also conducted a qualitative analysis of participants' open-ended responses about their perceptions of why Asian American college students might consider suicide. The authors identified a core phenomenon of unfulfilled expectations as well as 2 broad themes related to this core phenomenon: unfulfilled intrapersonal expectations and unfulfilled interpersonal expectations, comprising the subthemes of (a) family, (b) relationship, (c) cultural differences, and (d) racism. These findings are discussed in terms of implications for suicide-related clinical interventions and primary prevention efforts among Asian American college students.     

The Influence of Intersecting Identities on Self‐Harm,Suicidal Behaviors,and Depression among Lesbian,Gay, and Bisexual Individuals

Individuals with lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) identities have higher prevalence of self‐directed violence, but very little is known about racial/ethnic differences between LGB populations. This study aimed to examine racial/ethnic differences in self‐harm, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and depression among LGB and heterosexual emerging adults. Data are compiled from the Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 National College Health Assessment and limited to respondents within emerging adulthood (ages 18–24) who indicated their sexual orientation and racial/ethnic identities (n = 89,199). Within each racial/ethnic group, LGB individuals were significantly more likely to report self‐harm, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and depression than non‐LGB individuals.     

The UCLA Body Project II: Breast and Body Dissatisfaction among African, Asian, European, and Hispanic American College Women

Breast and global body dissatisfaction were examined in Asian (n = 237), European (n = 196), Hispanic (n = 109), and African (n = 58) American college women. Asian American women reported the lowest body satisfaction on the Appearance Evaluation Scale (Cash, T. F. The multidimensional body-self relations questionnaire users’ manual: 3rd revision, 2000) and greatest breast dissatisfaction on one of two breast dissatisfaction measures. Ethnic differences in breast dissatisfaction, but not in body dissatisfaction, disappeared when body size (BMI) was statistically controlled. Results were consistent with research showing that (1) ethnic differences in body dissatisfaction are small, (2) studies of ethnic differences must include appropriate controls for total or specific body size, and (3) Asian college women report lower global body satisfaction than women of African, European, or Hispanic heritage. For additional papers and information, please contact David Frederick at enderflies1@aol.com, visit his website at or contact Gordon B. Forbes at gforbes@millikin.edu.     

The impact of perceived racial discrimination on the mental health of Asian American and Latino college students

The authors examined the impact of perceived racial discrimination on various mental health outcomes for Asian American and Latino college students within an emic and etic framework. Results indicate that Asian American and Latino college students experienced similar exposure and reactions to various kinds of discrimination. However, Latino students were more likely than Asian American students to have been accused of doing something wrong, such as cheating and breaking the law, and more likely to appraise these experiences as stressful. Asian Americans evidenced higher risk for trait anxiety. Regardless of ethnicity, perceived racial discrimination was associated with several negative mental health outcomes, including higher psychological distress, suicidal ideation, state anxiety, trait anxiety, and depression. Findings highlight the need to address discrimination across multiple social and professional settings and to understand the broad array of mental health outcomes.     

Perceived Racism and Suicide Ideation: Mediating Role of Depression but Moderating Role of Religiosity among African American Adults

Suicide is a public health problem for African Americans who are young and of working age. The purpose of this study was to examine mediated and moderated effects of perceived racism on suicide ideation in a community sample of 236 African American men and women. Measures of suicide ideation, depression symptoms, intrinsic/extrinsic religiosity, and perceived racism were administered. Perceived racial discrimination was directly and indirectly associated with suicide ideation. For participants who reported low levels of extrinsic religiosity, the mediated effect of perceived racism (via depression symptoms) was significant. These findings provide some insight into suicide vulnerability for specific subgroups of African Americans.     

An empirical investigation of acculturative stress and ethnic identity as moderators for depression and suicidal ideation in college students

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships of acculturative stress and ethnic identity to depressive symptomatology and suicidal ideation in college students. The SAFE Acculturative Stress Scale, Multi-Group Ethnic Identity Measure, Beck Depression Inventory, and Beck Suicide Scale were administered to 452 college students. The authors found that acculturative stress and ethnic identity moderated the depression-suicide ideation relationship for African American but not European American college students. Given that vulnerability toward suicidal thoughts is increased for African American college students who report symptoms of depression accompanied by either high-acculturative stress or poor group identity, these culturally relevant factors should be included in protocol for suicide risk assessment.     

Anxiety Symptoms in African American Children: Relations with Ethnic Pride,Anxiety Sensitivity,and Parenting

This cross-sectional study examined the relations among children’s ethnic pride, perceived parenting behavior (i.e., parental control, parental acceptance), anxiety sensitivity, and child anxiety symptoms (i.e., physical symptoms, social anxiety symptoms, separation anxiety symptoms, and harm avoidance symptoms) in 266 African American school children (M = 9.98 years old; 55% girls). Structural equation modeling results indicated that high ethnic pride was associated with high parental acceptance. High perceived parental acceptance, in turn, was related to children reporting low levels of social anxiety symptoms and high levels of harm avoidance. In addition, high parental control was related to high anxiety sensitivity. Anxiety sensitivity partially mediated the relation between parental control and separation anxiety symptoms, such that parental control was both directly and indirectly related to separation anxiety symptoms. Parental control was indirectly related to physical symptoms, social anxiety symptoms, and harm avoidance symptoms through its direct link to anxiety sensitivity. The study’s results increment knowledge about factors influencing specific dimensions of anxiety in African American children.     

The Conceptualization of Anxiety: An Exploratory Study of Japanese American Older Adults

Few empirical studies exist on the mental health of Japanese American older adults. This study focused on how Japanese American older adults conceptualize anxiety. Participants were presented with a checklist, which included anxiety and depression symptoms identified in a previous qualitative study conducted by the authors, as well as symptoms from Generalized Anxiety Disorder in the Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IVrpar;. They were asked to imagine a Japanese American older adult who was experiencing anxiety and check off the symptoms he/she would be experiencing. Results indicated that these Japanese American participants conceptualized anxiety by using more depressive symptoms than anxiety symptoms. In addition, contrary to previous research and speculation about how Asian Americans experience psychological distress, participants also checked a larger number of cognitive symptoms as opposed to somatic symptoms. The present data suggest that Japanese American older adults conceptualize anxiety differently from the traditional psychiatric conceptualization of anxiety. Thus, clinicians and researchers should not generalize symptoms of psychological distress developed and researched on nonminority older adults to ethnic minority adults, and should consider such ethnic group differences in their assessment and treatment methods for ethnic minority adults.     

Risk and Resiliency Factors Influencing Suicidality Among Urban African American and Latino Youth

For decades, suicide rates among minority African American and Latino young people have been stable and, when compared with Whites, relatively low. This is no longer the case, underscoring the need for documenting and understanding the problem of suicidality in this population. We report on the prevalence and predictors of suicidality among 879 urban adolescents in the Reach for Health study. All youth resided in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods; 69% were African American, 16% Latino, and 15% reported mixed or other ethnicity. In the past year, 15% had seriously considered suicide; 13% had made a suicide plan, 11% had attempted suicide at least once, and 4% reported multiple attempts. Risk factors significantly related to suicidal ideation are being female, having basic needs unmet, engaging in same-gender sex, and depression. Resiliency factors include family closeness and, marginally, religiosity. Risk factors related to reports of suicide attempts are being female, being Hispanic, and depression; family closeness is strong resiliency factor. Family composition, ethnic identity, coping style, peer support, and school attachment are not significant correlates of suicidal ideation or attempts.     

Perceived burdensomeness and suicide ideation in older adults

Older adults have the highest risk of death by suicide in the United States. Improving our understanding of the factors that lead to increased risk of suicide in older adults will greatly inform our ability to prevent suicide in this high-risk group. Two studies were conducted to test the effect of perceived burdensomeness, a component of the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide (Joiner, 2005), on suicide ideation in older adults. Further, gender was examined as a moderator of this association to determine if perceived burdensomeness exerted a greater influence on suicide ideation in males. The results of these studies suggest that perceived burdensomeness accounts for significant variance in suicide ideation, even after predictors such as depressive symptoms, hopelessness, and functional impairment are controlled. Gender did not moderate the association. The implications of these findings for treatment of older adults with suicide ideation and elevated suicide risk are discussed.     

The Relationship between Intimate Partner Violence and Suicidal Ideation among Young Chinese,Korean, and Vietnamese American Women

ABSTRACT

High depression and suicide rates are critical problems that have a significant impact on the lives of young Asian American women. Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been identified as a predictor of suicidality in general female samples, but no research study has examined the relationship between IPV and suicidality in a sample of 1.5 and second-generation Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese American women. We used data collected from 173 women (aged 18-35 years) who were screened for eligibility to participate in the development and efficacy study of Asian American Women’s Action for Resilience and Empowerment (AWARE). We measured the prevalence of (a) IPV, (b) lifetime suicidal ideation/intent, and (c) childhood abuse and tested the association between IPV and lifetime suicidal ideation/intent among study participants who completed the clinical screening assessments. The results indicated that seven out of 10 women in our sample experienced lifetime suicidal ideation/intent, psychological aggression was the most commonly reported form of IPV during the last six months, followed by sexual coercion, and history of physical and/or sexual partner violence had the most robust association with lifetime suicidal ideation/intent after controlling for demographic factors and childhood abuse. Our study suggests that suicide prevention and intervention programs for young 1.5 and second-generation Asian American women should not only address experiences of childhood abuse, but also incorporate culturally adapted behavioral health approaches to identify and target physical and sexual partner violence. Furthermore, any such programs need to integrate a systemic approach in addressing IPV within the context of various marginalized experiences of Asian American women.     

Mediators of the Daily Hassles–Suicidal Ideation Link in African American Women

Depressive symptoms and hopelessness as mediators of the daily hassles–suicidal ideation link in low‐income African American women exposed to intimate partner violence (n = 100) were investigated. As hypothesized, daily hassles, depressive symptoms, and hopelessness were each significantly and positively associated with suicidal ideation. Moreover, the relation between daily hassles and suicidal ideation was, in part, accounted for by depressive symptoms and hopelessness. This study demonstrates the importance of assessing for the presence of these risk factors when determining the likelihood that an abused African American woman will consider suicide. The findings further highlight the value of designing and implementing interventions that target the reduction in depressive symptoms and hopelessness in abused African American women exposed to daily hassles to reduce their suicide risk.     

Anxiety Symptoms and Fears in Hispanic and European American Children: Cross-Cultural Measurement Equivalence

The cross cultural equivalence of child (n = 217) and parent (n = 283) versions of the revised children’s manifest anxiety scale (RCMAS), multidimensional anxiety scale for children (MASC), and the fear survey schedule for children—revised (FSSC-R) was examined in Mexican youth in Mexico, and Hispanic and white European American youth in the USA. The RCMAS, MASC, and FSSC-R showed cross ethnic measurement equivalence. The Mexican and Hispanic youth reported more worries, and the Mexican youth reported more somatic symptoms than the European American youth. Per mother report, Mexican and Hispanic youth express more somatic symptoms than European American youth who also show the least number of fears of the unknown and fears of danger and death. The results support the validity of commonly used child anxiety measures with these populations and accrue evidence for greater anxiety and fear expression by Hispanic and Mexican youth in certain domains.

Strain,Emotion, and Suicide Among American Indian Youth

In this article, we test the utility of Agnew's general strain theory to explain suicidal behaviors among American Indian youth. Data from 721 American Indian adolescents from the Midwest and Canada were collected in partnership with participating reservations/reserves and a research team. We investigate the effects of strains/stressors on suicide, including tests of mediating effects of negative emotions on relationships between stressors and suicidality. We found that several strains/stressors were related to suicidality, including coercive parenting, caretaker rejection, negative school attitudes, and perceived discrimination. We also found that depressive symptoms and anger mediated the effects of several key predictors of suicidality. We discuss the theoretical and policy implications of our work for the general strain theory and for American Indian suicide in general.     

The Association Between Gender,Ethnicity, and Suicidality Among Vocational Students in Israel

Gender and ethnicity are significant factors when evaluating suicidal risk, especially among ethnically diverse populations. In the current study we explored the association between gender, ethnicity, and suicide ideation and attempts among Arab and Jewish vocational education and training high school students in Israel. Students (N = 3,554) completed a self‐report survey evaluating suicide ideation and attempts, depression, anxiety, somatization, and sense of belonging. Hierarchical generalized linear modeling indicated that female Arab adolescents had elevated levels of suicide ideation, higher rates of suicide attempts, and greater psychological distress than Arab males and Jewish students. Furthermore, female Arab adolescents were found to be more susceptible to suicide ideation when depression levels were high. These results are discussed in the context of the double‐jeopardy Arab young women face, as members of a minority ethnic group in Israel and their status as women within the patriarchal Arab culture.