Risk of racism as a social determinant of suicidality among young adolescents in the United States: An investigation using the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study

Abstract

Although cross-sectional studies have investigated the effects of perceived racial discrimination on suicidality among adolescents, few studies have examined the effects of risk of racism on suicidality among young adolescents using longitudinal data. This study investigated the association between the risk of racism and suicidality among young adolescents. Data for this study came from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study (2017–2020). The sample (n = 10,301) of adolescents aged 11–12 was analyzed with risk of racism at Wave 1 as the main explanatory variable and suicidality at Wave 2 as the outcome variable. The main analysis involves the use of binary logistic regression. Of the 10,301 young adolescents examined, 13.01 % reported experiencing suicidality, 54.58 % were at low risk of racism, 42.54 % were at moderate risk of racism, and 2.88 % were at high risk of racism. Controlling for demographic characteristics, risk and protective factors, the odds of experiencing suicidality were 1.69 times higher for young adolescents at high risk of racism [AOR = 1.69, 95 % CI = 1.23, 2.32] when compared to their counterparts at low risk of racism. Parental acceptance and monitoring emerged as protective factors against the detrimental effects of racism on suicidality. The findings of this study demonstrate that racial discrimination significantly contributes to suicidality. There is the need for targeted interventions and anti-racist policies to combat racism and promote protective familial relationships to mitigate young adolescent suicidality.