title: Ethnic differences in risk factors for suicide among American high school students, 2009: the vulnerability of multiracial and Pacific Islander adolescents.
abstract: This study compared self-reported risk factors for suicide among American high school students in the last decade. Data from the 1999-2009 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys was analyzed by 8 self-reported ethnicity groups across 6 suicide-related items: depression, suicide ideation, suicide planning, suicide attempts, and suicide attempts requiring medical attention). Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander adolescents had the higher prevalence of risk factors for suicide. Multiracial adolescents were also at high risk for suicide-related behaviors, with a risk comparable to American Indian/Alaska Native adolescents. Overall, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, multiracial, and American Indian/Alaska Native adolescents reported a significantly higher risk for suicide-related behaviors compared to their Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White peers. The ethnic disparities in risk factors for suicide dictate a need to understand the vulnerability of the Pacific Islander, American Indian, and growing multiracial adolescent populations, in an effort to develop and implement suicide prevention strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, School Of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA. wongss@stanford.edu
authors.forename: Shane Shucheng
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Jeanelle J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Sugimoto-Matsuda
authors.forename: Janice Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Earl S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Hishinuma
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D054525:Minority Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D044468:Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013405:Suicide / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology