Exploring the Situational Contexts of Heterosexual and Sexual Minority Adolescent Suicidality: A Partial Test of Minority Stress Theory

Abstract

Data from the 2019 Minnesota Student Survey, consisting of 166,176 students ranging in age from 10 to 18 years, were used to investigate patterns of adolescent suicidal ideation and attempt through the lens of Minority Stress Theory (MST). Through a conjunctive analysis of case configurations (CACC), the current study demonstrates that adolescent suicidal ideation and attempt cluster significantly among specific situational profiles defined by the unique combination of variable attributes. Students most likely to indicate suicidal ideation were generally sexual minority females in high school who experienced cyberbullying, parental abuse, dating violence, and sexual abuse. Students least likely to report suicidal ideation were generally non-sexual minorities in elementary school who nearly never experienced parental abuse, dating violence, or sexual abuse. Results regarding adolescent suicide attempt indicate analogous results. The current findings highlight the importance of furthering research on contextual predictors of adolescent suicidality, with particular emphasis on sexual minority adolescents.