3 - (SYM 129) Protective Factors for Suicide Attempts in Adults with Minoritized Racial and Sexual Orientation Identities

Intro: Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States. Middle aged adults account for 47.2% of all suicides, and sexual minorities have higher suicide attempt rates than heterosexual people (CDC, 2021). Research on protective factors show that both subjective happiness and life satisfaction are associated with decreased suicide risk (Koivumaa-Honkanen et al., 2001; Pompili et al.,2015). However, it is not well understood if these factors are protective in adults with minoritized identities. This research is needed since suicide risk is even higher for sexual minority adults who also have a minoritized racial identity (O’Donnell, Meyer, & Schwarts, 2011). The current study examined race as a moderator in the relationships between both subjective happiness, life satisfaction, and lifetime suicide attempts.

Methods: Data were from the publicly available Generations study database (Meyer, 2023). This project collected data from lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals through mail or email. For the current study, data from wave one was utilized (collected between 2016-2018) and included 1518 adults. The mean age was 36.5 (SD=14.7) and 53.5% were female. The sample was composed up 61.3%White, 11.9% Black, 10.4% Latinx, and 15.2% Multiethnic individuals. Almost 25% of participants reported lifetime suicide attempts. Participants completed the Satisfaction with Life Scale, one item assessing overall happiness, and lifetime suicide attempts (ye/no).

Results: The first model found that race was a significant moderator in the relationship between life satisfaction and lifetime suicide attempts. Simple slopes analyses found this relationship to be strongest for White adults, with higher life satisfaction associating with decreased likelihood of a lifetime suicide attempt. The relationship was weakest for the Multiethnic group. The second model showed similar results for race as a significant moderator in the relationship between subjective happiness and lifetime suicide attempts. Simple slope analyses again found that the relationship was strongest for White adults and weakest for the Multiethnic group.

 


Conclusion: The results from this study suggest that life satisfaction and happiness may not be protective factors for suicide attempts for LBG individuals with various intersecting racial identities. The results demonstrate a lack of knowledge about protective factors for minoritized adults, particularly those with more than one minoritized identity.