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Suicide and Self-Injury

The Influence of Social Problem-Solving Orientation on the Relation between Lifetime Discrimination and Past Month Passive Suicidal Ideation in a Diverse, Young Adult Sample

(PS2-D79) The Influence of Social Problem-solving Orientation on the Relation Between Lifetime Discrimination and past Month Passive Suicidal Ideation in a Diverse, Young Adult Sample

Friday, November 18, 2022

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM EST

Location: Westside Ballroom, 5th Floor

Author(s)

Roberto Lopez, Jr., M.A.

Doctoral Candidate
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia

Co-Author(s)

Christianne Esposito-Smythers, Ph.D.

Professor
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia

Passive suicidal ideation (i.e., the desire to be dead) may be an important, yet understudied, risk factor for suicidal behavior. Experiences of discrimination have been linked to greater severity of suicidal ideation though factors that influence this relation have been less studied. Prior work suggests that problem-solving orientation may be an important moderator. Positive problem-solving orientation (PPO) refers to a general disposition to view problems as solvable as well as a belief in one’s ability to solve problems. In contrast, negative problem-solving orientation (NPO) refers to the tendency to doubt one’s ability to solve problems effectively as well as a propensity to become easily discouraged when faced with everyday problems. In the present study, PPO and NPO were hypothesized to moderate the relation between lifetime discrimination and past month frequency of passive suicidal ideation. Two-hundred and twenty-five young adults (M_age = 20.24, SD = 2.49, range = 18-33 years; 69.3% female) were recruited from a Mid-Atlantic college campus. Participants identified as White (38.7%), Asian (30.7%), Black/African American (13.8%), Bi/multiracial (6.2%), Native American/Alaskan (1.3%), or Other (8.9%). Approximately one-fifth of participants identified as Hispanic or Latino/a/x (21.3%). Over one-fourth identified as a sexual minority (28.9%). Lifetime discrimination, current problem-solving orientation, past-month depressive symptoms, and past-month frequency of passive suicidal ideation were assessed using the Everyday Discrimination Scale, Social-Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised: Short-Form, Emotional Distress-Depression Short Form, and a modified Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating item, respectively. After controlling for sex, sexual identity, depressive symptoms, and age, analyses conducted with PROCESS revealed that PPO (b = -0.02, p < .001; 95% bootstrapped CI: [-0.026, -0.008]), but not NPO (b = 0.01, p = .715; 95% bootstrapped CI: [-0.009, 0.014]), moderated the relation between lifetime discrimination and past month passive suicidal ideation (R² = .60, p < .001). Specifically, the relation between discrimination and passive SI was only significant among those with low PPO. Results suggest that bolstering PPO in treatment with young adults who have experienced discrimination may help reduce suicide risk.