Adolescent Dating Violence and Suicide Planning Among Girls in US High Schools: An Intracategorical Intersectional Analysis by Race and Ethnicity.

Abstract

Objectives. To examine associations between adolescent dating violence (ADV) and suicide planning among girls and differences by race/ethnicity. Methods. Data were from the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), a cross-sectional, nationally representative study of 9th- to 12th-grade adolescents from US high schools (n = 3886). We used weighted logistic regression to examine associations between ADV and suicide planning and assess moderation by race/ethnicity. Results. Compared with girls who did not experience any ADV, girls who experienced both physical and sexual ADV had greater odds of making a suicide plan (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =  5.35; 95% confidence interval [CI] =  3.27, 8.74), and the effect size was larger than for experiencing either type of ADV alone. The relationship between sexual ADV and suicide planning was exacerbated for Latina girls (AOR =  6.36; 95% CI =  3.96, 10.19) compared with White girls (AOR =  2.51; 95% CI =  1.45, 4.35). Conclusions. Experiencing any form of ADV increases the odds of suicide planning among girls, with stronger impacts for Latina girls experiencing only sexual ADV. Public Health Implications. Prevention of suicide planning for Latina girls who experience sexual ADV may be strengthened by integrating contextually tailored suicide prevention into prevention programs addressing healthy relationships and prevention of sexual violence. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print May 1, 2025:e1-e9. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2025.308043).