Minority Stress and Mental Health among LGBTQ+ Persons Across the Lifespan: A Longitudinal, Developmentally Informed Approach
4 - (SYM 39) Relations Between Sexual Orientation, Depressive Symptom Severity, and Suicidal Ideation: Preliminary Results from an Ecological Momentary Assessment Study
Professor George Mason University Fairfax, Virginia, United States
Abstract Body Depressive symptoms among young adults (ages 18-24) are a significant risk factor for future suicidal ideation. Nevertheless, not all young adults who experience depressive symptoms will experience suicidal ideation. Young adults who identify as a sexual minority (i.e., lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, or questioning) are at increased risk of psychopathology, including depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation, in part as a result of the everyday discrimination they experience as a marginalized community. Therefore, it is possible sexual minority young adults experiencing depressive symptoms are at greater risk for suicidal ideation relative to their heterosexual peers. Using a diverse sample of young adults, the current study sought to examine the potential moderating role of sexual orientation between depressive symptoms and presence of suicidal ideation during the following 28 days. To determine if discrimination based on a wider array of marginalized characteristics (e.g., gender, age, disability, socioeconomic status, etc.) was a potential moderator of the prospective relation between depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation, exploratory analyses using a broad measure of everyday discrimination were also conducted. The sample consisted of 49 diverse young adults (Mage = 19.73, SD = 1.63, range = 18-24 years; 71.0% female, 55.0% non-White; 47.0% sexual minority) with past-month suicidal ideation recruited from a college in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Sexual orientation, lifetime experiences of everyday discrimination, worst-point suicidal ideation as well as past-month depressive symptom severity were assessed at baseline. Participants then reported on their suicidal ideation up to 6 times per day for 28 days as part of an ecological momentary assessment protocol. After controlling for age, sex, and worst-point suicidal ideation severity, depressive symptoms predicted presence (versus absence) of suicidal ideation during the following 28 days (OR = 1.11, p = .010, 95% CI [1.03, 1.12]). Neither sexual orientation nor everyday discrimination moderated this relation (p’s > .05). Results are consistent with prior literature establishing a prospective link between depressive symptoms and future suicidal ideation. Further research is needed to identify young adults at greatest risk for suicide, particularly among those who have experienced interpersonal discrimination.
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