1 - (SYM 119) Daily Associations Among Oppression-based Stressors, General and Affirmative Social Supports, Suicide Ideation, and Non-suicidal Self-injury Ideation Among Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescents

Objective: Sexual and gender minority adolescents (SGMA) are at heighted risk for suicide ideation (SI) and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) ideation compared to their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. Oppression-based stressors such as heterosexist or cissexist discrimination, internalized oppression, or identity concealment are posited to explain these disparities, and they are associated with greater SI and NSSI ideation among SGMA. However, there is limited research examining protective factors that mitigate the impact of oppression-based stressors. We conducted a 28-day daily diary study to test the moderating effects of four unique types of daily social supports (i.e., support from family, peers, and others as well as overall SGM affirmative support) on the associations between oppression-based stressors and SI and NSSI ideation among SGMA.

Methods:  Participants were 92 SGMA, ages 12 to 19 years old (M = 16.45; SD = 1.81; 64% cisgender; 69% White), who were recruited from clinical and community settings. Participants demonstrated high compliance over the 28-day monitoring period (83%).

Results: Results indicated that on days SGMA experienced greater oppression-based stressors than average, they had a greater likelihood of reporting same-day SI and NSSI ideation. All forms of daily social support were associated with a lower likelihood of endorsing same-day SI and NSSI ideation. Only SGM affirmative support buffered the daily associations between interpersonal oppression-based stressors and SI and NSSI ideation.

Conclusion: The novel results highlight the importance of multiple forms of daily social support in reducing risk for same-day SI and NSSI ideation among SGMA as well as underscore the unique role of SGM affirmative social supports in mitigating the daily impact of oppression-based stressors on SI and NSSI ideation. These findings have important implications for multilevel interventions to reduce the elevated rates of SI and NSSI in SGMA populations.