Developing a Risk Profile for Suicidality in Emerging Adults

Abstract

Suicide is a leading cause of death for emerging adults (18-29 years). If researchers can identify risk factors distinct to this transitory developmental stage, these risk profiles could lead to targeted interventions that could reduce suicides. The current study used binary logistic regressions to examine the association between multiple sociodemographic variables as well as depressive symptoms with suicidal ideation, suicide plans and suicide attempts in emerging adults (n = 755, M age = 23.16, 50.6% female). After controlling for sad/depressive symptoms, the following factors remained significantly associated with increasing suicidality: 1) bisexuality and being a student predicted suicidal ideation (OR = 1.8 - 3.4), and 2) bisexuality and being disabled predicted suicide plans (OR = 1.9 - 4.1) and attempts (OR = 1.1 - 1.2). Whereas these results highlight significant associations between socially disadvantaged variables and suicidal behavior in emerging adults, future research is required to understand the mechanisms through which these factors may be related to suicidal behavior.