Shervin Assari; Babak Najand; Ronald Mincy; Cleopatra Caldwell
Abstract
Background: High income is a protective factor against suicidality for children, youth, and adults, however, recent research has documented weaker health effects of high income for Black than White individuals, a pattern also called marginalization-related diminished returns (MDRs).Objectives: In this ...
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Background: High income is a protective factor against suicidality for children, youth, and adults, however, recent research has documented weaker health effects of high income for Black than White individuals, a pattern also called marginalization-related diminished returns (MDRs).Objectives: In this study, we tested racial variation in the association between high income and suicidality in a national sample of 9-10-year-old Black and White American children.Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, which included 7298 White or Black children between the ages of 9 and 10. Of all the participants, 5652 were White and 1646 were Black. The predictor variable was family income, treated as a continuous measure. Race was the moderator. The outcome variable was suicidality, treated as a dummy variable, reflecting any positive suicidal thoughts or behaviors endorsed over the lifecourse. Covariates included sex, age, family structure (parental marital status), parental education, trauma, history of depression, neighborhood poverty, and family conflict. Logistic regression was used for data analysis.Results: Overall, family income was inversely associated with children’s suicidality, net of all covariates. A statistically significant interaction was found between race and family income, suggesting that the inverse association between family income and suicidality is weaker in Black than White children.Conclusion: The observed weaker association between income and suicidality in Black than White children suggests that family income does not provide the same protection against suicidality for Black as White children. Due to racism, income and some other socioeconomic status indicators show weaker than expected health effects on Black families in the US.
Shervin Assari
Abstract
Background: Perceived discrimination (PD) is a risk factor of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) for children, youth, and adults. However, it is unknown whether the association between PD and STB frequency differs between African American (AA) and Non-Hispanic White children.Objectives: In this study, ...
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Background: Perceived discrimination (PD) is a risk factor of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) for children, youth, and adults. However, it is unknown whether the association between PD and STB frequency differs between African American (AA) and Non-Hispanic White children.Objectives: In this study, we compared AA and non-Latino White children for the association between PD and STB frequency in a national sample of 9-10-year-old American children.Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, which included 7883 non-Latino White or AA children between the ages of 9 and 10. The predictor variable was frequency of PDs. Race was the moderator. The outcome variable was STB frequency, treated as a count variable, reflecting positive STB items endorsed over the life-course. Covariates included sex, age, marital status, household income, parental education, parental employment, trauma, and economic difficulties. Poisson regression was used for data analysis.Results: Of all the participants, 5994 were non-Latino Whites, and 1889 were AAs. Overall, PD frequency was positively associated with STB frequency. A statistically significant interaction was found between race and PD, suggesting that the association between PD and STB frequency is weaker in AA than non-Latino White children.Conclusion: The observed weaker association between PDs frequency and STB frequency in AA than non-Latino White children suggests that PD may be a less salient risk factor of STB frequency for AA than non-Latino White children. Researchers should explore factors other than PD for suicide prevention of AA children in the US.