TY - JOUR
T1 - Suicide attempt rates and associations with discrimination are greatest in early adulthood for sexual minority adults across diverse racial and ethnic groups
AU - Layland, Eric K.
AU - Exten, Cara
AU - Mallory, Allen B.
AU - Williams, Natasha D.
AU - Fish, Jessica N.
N1 - Funding Information:
E.K.L. was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (T32DA017629; P50DA039838) and the National Institute of Mental Health (T32MH020031) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). C.E. was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (KL2TR002015; UL1TR002014) of the NIH. A.B.M. was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P2CHD042849; T32HD007081) and the National Institute of Mental Health (F31MH115608) of the NIH. N.D.W. acknowledges the support of the Southern Regional Education Board. J.N.F. was supported by the University of Maryland Prevention Research Center cooperative agreement number U48DP006382 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P2CHD041041) of the NIH. The content of this study does not reflect the official views of the NIH or the CDC.
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright 2020, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 2020.
PY - 2020/11/1
Y1 - 2020/11/1
N2 - Purpose: The study purpose was to investigate differences in past 5-year suicide attempts among racially/ethnically diverse sexual minority (SM) and heterosexual adults across the life course and examine the association of discrimination with past 5-year suicide attempts among SM adults. Methods: Using nationally representative data collected from 2012 to 2013, we assessed differences in age-varying prevalence of past 5-year suicide attempts among Black, Hispanic, and White SM and heterosexual adults (ages 18-60). We tested whether the association between discrimination and suicide attempts differed by race/ethnicity among SM adults. All secondary data analyses were approved by the Institutional Review Boards of The Pennsylvania State University and University of Maryland. Results: Compared with heterosexual adults of any race/ethnicity, SM adults exhibited elevated suicide attempt rates until the late twenties when prevalence for Black and Hispanic SM adults declined. Disparities persisted into the mid-40s for White SM adults. Among SM adults of all races/ethnicities, the relationship between SM discrimination and suicide attempts was strongest between ages 18 and 25. For SM adults reporting SM discrimination, odds of suicide attempts were 3.6 times higher for White SM adults and 4.5 times higher for Black and Hispanic SM adults, relative to same-race/ethnicity SM adults who did not report SM discrimination. The effect of SM discrimination was robust among Black and Hispanic SM young adults even when accounting for racial/ethnic discrimination. Conclusions: SM adults of all racial/ethnic groups demonstrated disparities when contrasted with heterosexual adults of any race/ethnicity, although ages characterized by heightened prevalence rates of suicide attempts differed by race/ethnicity. Early adulthood is a critical period for intervention seeking to disrupt the association between SM discrimination and suicide attempts.
AB - Purpose: The study purpose was to investigate differences in past 5-year suicide attempts among racially/ethnically diverse sexual minority (SM) and heterosexual adults across the life course and examine the association of discrimination with past 5-year suicide attempts among SM adults. Methods: Using nationally representative data collected from 2012 to 2013, we assessed differences in age-varying prevalence of past 5-year suicide attempts among Black, Hispanic, and White SM and heterosexual adults (ages 18-60). We tested whether the association between discrimination and suicide attempts differed by race/ethnicity among SM adults. All secondary data analyses were approved by the Institutional Review Boards of The Pennsylvania State University and University of Maryland. Results: Compared with heterosexual adults of any race/ethnicity, SM adults exhibited elevated suicide attempt rates until the late twenties when prevalence for Black and Hispanic SM adults declined. Disparities persisted into the mid-40s for White SM adults. Among SM adults of all races/ethnicities, the relationship between SM discrimination and suicide attempts was strongest between ages 18 and 25. For SM adults reporting SM discrimination, odds of suicide attempts were 3.6 times higher for White SM adults and 4.5 times higher for Black and Hispanic SM adults, relative to same-race/ethnicity SM adults who did not report SM discrimination. The effect of SM discrimination was robust among Black and Hispanic SM young adults even when accounting for racial/ethnic discrimination. Conclusions: SM adults of all racial/ethnic groups demonstrated disparities when contrasted with heterosexual adults of any race/ethnicity, although ages characterized by heightened prevalence rates of suicide attempts differed by race/ethnicity. Early adulthood is a critical period for intervention seeking to disrupt the association between SM discrimination and suicide attempts.
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U2 - 10.1089/lgbt.2020.0142
DO - 10.1089/lgbt.2020.0142
M3 - Article
C2 - 33290152
AN - SCOPUS:85097941267
SN - 2325-8292
VL - 7
SP - 439
EP - 447
JO - LGBT Health
JF - LGBT Health
IS - 8
ER -
