(PS2-B48) Preliminary Evidence for a Psychosocial Model of the Relation Between Discrimination and Passive Suicidal Ideation in a Diverse, Nonclinical Sample

Passive suicidal ideation (SI) may be an important, yet understudied, risk factor for suicide attempts and death. Discrimination based on one (or more) identities and/or personal characteristics (e.g., skin color, ability, etc.) has been linked to greater severity of SI. However, the mechanisms underlying this relation are not well comprehended. Understanding the underlying psychosocial process between discrimination and SI is important for developing effective and culturally sensitive suicide prevention strategies among marginalized populations. The aim of the current study was to test whether discrimination and frequency of passive SI would be indirectly related through three different constructs, in tandem. Specifically, prior research suggests that discrimination may lead to increased sensitivity to social rejection (i.e., rejection sensitivity). Next, as individuals become more sensitive to social rejection, they may engage in an avoidant style of social problem-solving (e.g., not taking action to solve a social problem, avoiding individuals who are involved, etc.) to circumvent the possibility of rejection. While avoidance of problems may lead to short-term relief, the problems often remain unresolved and may even escalate, subsequently leading to depressive symptoms. Ultimately, these depressive symptoms may be experienced as intolerable and fuel the motivation to end one’s suffering via suicide. Therefore, lifetime discrimination was hypothesized to be indirectly related to past-month frequency of passive SI through rejection sensitivity, avoidant style, and depressive symptoms. The sample consisted of a diverse group of young adults (N = 182; M_age = 20.08, SD = 2.52, range = 18-33 years; 69.8% female) recruited from a Mid-Atlantic college campus. Participants identified as White (40.1%), Asian (29.7%), Black/African American (15.4%), Bi/Multiracial (4.9%), Native American/Alaskan (1.6%), or Other (7.7%). Approximately one-fifth of participants identified as Hispanic or Latino/a/x (21.4%). About one-third identified as a sexual minority (29.7%). Lifetime discrimination, current rejection sensitivity, current avoidant style, past-month depressive symptoms, and past-month frequency of passive SI were assessed using the Everyday Discrimination Scale, Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire, 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, and age, analyses conducted with PROCESS revealed that discrimination was indirectly related to passive SI through rejection sensitivity, avoidant style, and depressive symptoms in serial fashion ( = .005, 95% bootstrapped CI: [0.001, 0.014]). The entire model accounted over half of the variance in passive SI (R² = .56, p < .001). Results suggest that targeting rejection sensitivity, avoidant problem-solving style, and depressive symptoms among young adults with experiences of discrimination may help reduce suicide risk.