The Association Between Racial Discrimination and Suicidality among African-American Adolescents and Young Adults

Arch Suicide Res. 2017 Oct-Dec;22(4):584-595. doi: 10.1080/13811118.2017.1387207. Epub 2018 Jan 24.

Abstract

This study assessed the association between racial discrimination and suicidality (ideation, plan, or attempt) in African-American adolescents and young adults (n = 806, mean age = 17.9 years). Structured psychiatric phone interviews were conducted in offspring and their mothers in a high-risk alcoholism family study. Logistic regression analyses using offspring's own racial discrimination as a predictor revealed elevated odds of suicidality, even after adjusting for correlated psychiatric conditions (OR = 1.76) but was reduced to non-significance after adjusting for maternal experiences of racial discrimination (OR = 3.19 in males), depression, and problem drinking. Findings support a link between racial discrimination and suicidality in African-American youth that, for males, is partially explained by maternal racial discrimination.

Keywords: African-Americans; adolescents; racial discrimination; suicidality; young adults.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Alcoholism / epidemiology
  • Black or African American / psychology
  • Depression / diagnosis
  • Depression / psychology
  • Family Health
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Interview, Psychological
  • Interviews as Topic
  • Male
  • Mothers / psychology*
  • Racism* / ethnology
  • Racism* / prevention & control
  • Racism* / psychology
  • Racism* / statistics & numerical data
  • Risk Assessment / methods
  • Risk Factors
  • Suicide Prevention*
  • Suicide* / ethnology
  • Suicide* / psychology
  • Suicide* / statistics & numerical data
  • United States / epidemiology
  • Young Adult