J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2025 May 15. doi: 10.1007/s40615-025-02431-8. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Suicide is a leading cause of death among adolescents and research on aggregated data conceals unique vulnerabilities across ethno-racial subpopulations. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increase risk for suicide ideation (SI) and suicide attempts (SA), but these associations may vary across different ethno-racial groups and years.
METHOD: Data from the 2013-2022 Minnesota Student Survey were used to assess trends in past-year SI and SA (grades 8, 9, and 11, n = 421,709). We described frequencies of demographics and evaluated trends using the Mantel-Haenszel tests of linear associations stratified by 12 ethno-racial groups and sex. Using logistic regression models, we assessed how SI and SA outcomes varied across ethno-racial groups when adjusting for grade and ACEs.
RESULTS: Overall, SI and SA increased among 8 th and 9 th grade female students. Female students more frequently reported SI (14.0-20.1%, p < 0.001) and SA (4.9-5.6%, p < 0.001), compared to male students (SI 6.3-8.8%; SA 1.9-2.5%, p < 0.001), with Black Latine, American Indian/Alaskan Native (AIAN), and multiracial students consistently reporting high rates. Rates of SA significantly increased among AIAN male and AIAN and Black female students. ACEs were strongly related to SI and SA, but time trends were not limited to changes in ACEs for most groups.
CONCLUSION: These marked differences in SI and SA call for targeted and multipronged prevention approaches that account for shared and distinct factors across sex, developmental stages, and ethno-racial subgroups. To develop acceptable and efficacious interventions identifying amenable targets within subgroups is critical.
PMID:40372600 | DOI:10.1007/s40615-025-02431-8
