Understanding Contagion of Suicidal Ideation: The Importance of Taking Into Account Social and Structural Determinants of Health

Suicidal behavior is a critical mental health problem in the United States, and this is particularly true for youth with social identities that are historically minoritized and discriminated against. There is also a growing awareness of the influence of social determinants of health (SDOH) on mental health. The current study examines links between one's own thoughts of suicide and the dose of exposure to other people's suicidal thoughts, often labeled contagion, within the context of different minoritized identity groups and SDOH deficits. Project Lift Up is a national longitudinal study of youth aged 13–22 years designed to understand exposure to suicidal thoughts and behaviors in social networks. A cohort of 4981 adolescents and young adults was recruited online via social media between June 13, 2022, and October 30, 2023. Youth who knew one person with suicidal thoughts were 1.75 times (p = 0.002) more likely than those without such exposure to self-report recent thought of suicide and those who knew between 2 and 4 people were 1.81 times more likely (p < 0.001). These odds increased to 3.47 (p < 0.001) if the youth knew five or more people with thoughts of suicide. Youth who identified with a social identity group that experiences marginalization and systemic oppression (based on race, ethnicity, disability status, gender, and sexual identity) and exposure to suicidal thoughts had higher odds of recent thoughts of suicide compared to non-minoritized and non-exposed youth. SDOH also explained unique variance in self-reported ideation. Exposure to other people's suicidal thoughts is associated with one's own thoughts of suicide and the number of people exposed to amplifies this effect, especially for individuals also experiencing adversity burden from SDOH. Results add to the extant literature documenting the higher odds of suicidal ideation that minoritized youth face.