Suicidal Ideation Among Racial/Ethnic Minorities: Moderating Effects of Rumination and Depressive Symptoms

Among emerging adults and college students, racial and ethnic minorities experience greater risk for suicidal ideation and behavior than their White counterparts. Research has identified numerous cognitive risk factors for suicidal ideation. However, they have not been well studied among racial and ethnic minorities. The present study examined the association between these factors (brooding rumination, reflective rumination, hopelessness, and depressive symptoms) and suicidal ideation among 690 Black, Latino, and biracial college students. Among all groups, hopelessness was positively associated with suicidal ideation. Brooding was negatively associated with suicidal ideation, after adjusting for reflection and hopelessness, although only at low levels of depressive symptoms. Black race/ethnicity and Latino race/ethnicity, compared with biracial race/ethnicity, each separately interacted with reflection to predict lower levels of suicidal ideation at moderate to high levels of reflection. Furthermore, Latino race/ethnicity, compared with biracial race/ethnicity, interacted with both reflection and depressive symptoms, such that reflection was negatively associated with suicidal ideation among Latino individuals reporting depressive symptoms above the 39th percentile. Biracial race/ethnicity, compared with monoracial race/ethnicity, also interacted with reflection and depressive symptoms, with reflection associated with greater amounts of suicidal ideation at depressive symptom levels above the 39th percentile. Our findings suggest reflective rumination differentially affects racial and ethnic groups and should be considered in conjunction with depressive symptoms among Latino and biracial individuals in suicide risk assessment and treatment.