A Statewide Disaggregated Analysis of Suicide Outcomes for Ethnoracially Minoritized Adolescents

• In Event: Saturday Roundtable Session 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Individual, Familial, and School Contributors and Hinderers to Adolescent Mental Health (Table 2)

Abstract

Increases in suicide rates for racially/ethnically diverse adolescents in the US is a pervasive yet understudied issue. As states, including departments of instruction, are charged with developing suicide prevention plans, this study examines disaggregated state-level data to inform efforts. Data from the 1991-2019 national CDC YRBS was analyzed for 17,419 diverse adolescents in a southeastern state to examine patterns and determine if independent variables (IV; race/ethnicity, sex, sexual identity) predicted suicide. Descriptive analyses and multinominal logistic regression models were employed. All models were statistically significant. Interactions for all IVs were only found with Black female adolescents unsure of their sexual identity and suicide attempts. Disaggregating state-level data is critical to ensure racial equity and justice.

Authors

• Sonyia Richardson, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

• John A. Williams, Texas A&M University

• Margaret Phipps-Bennett, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

• Michelle Vance, North Carolina A&T State University

• Portia M. York, Lenoir-Rhyne University