Research among adults reveals robust associations between discrimination and suicidality. The relationship between discrimination and suicidality is understudied in youth. Participants in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study completed a measure of discrimination based on multiple attributes. The Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS) was administered one-year later to assess depressive disorders and suicidality (ideation and behavior). Logistic regressions, adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, family income, lifetime depressive disorders, and body composition were conducted. Adjusting for covariates, discrimination based on weight (OR: 2.19), race/ethnicity/color (OR: 3.21), and sexual orientation (OR: 3.83) were associated with greater odds of reporting suicidality one year later (ps < 0.025). Nationality-based discrimination was not significantly associated with suicidality. Compared with those reporting no discrimination, youths reporting discrimination based on two or more attributes had nearly five times greater odds of recent suicidality (OR: 4.72; p<0.001). The current study highlights the deleterious impacts of discrimination on mental health among youths reporting multiple forms of discrimination.
Published by Elsevier Inc.