Roberto Rentería1, Corina Benjet2, Raúl A Gutierrez-Garcia3, Adrián Ábrego Ramírez4, Yesica Albor5, Guilherme Borges6, María Anabell Covarrubias Díaz Couder7, María Del Socorro Durán8, Rogaciano González González3, Rebeca Guzmán Saldaña9, Alicia E Hermosillo De la Torre10, Ana María Martínez-Jerez11, Kalina I Martinez Martinez10, María Elena Medina-Mora6, Sinead Martínez Ruiz12, María Abigail Paz Pérez3, Gustavo Pérez Tarango8, María Alicia Zavala Berbena8, Enrique Méndez6, Randy P Auerbach13, Philippe Mortier14. 1. Counseling & Counseling Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States of America. 2. Dirección de Investigaciones Epidemiológicas y Psicosociales, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Ciudad de México, México. Electronic address: cbenjet@imp.edu.mx. 3. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, Universidad De La Salle Bajío, Campus Salamanca, Salamanca, Guanajuato, México. 4. Dirección de Investigación, Universidad Politécnica de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, México; Dirección de Educación a Distancia, Universidad Cuauhtémoc, Plantel Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, México. 5. Departamento de Salud Púbica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México. 6. Dirección de Investigaciones Epidemiológicas y Psicosociales, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Ciudad de México, México. 7. Dirección de Investigación, Universidad La Salle Noroeste, Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, México. 8. Dirección de Orientación y Desarrollo Educativo, Universidad De La Salle Bajío, Campus Campestre, León, Guanajuato, México. 9. Instituto de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Hidalgo, México. 10. Departamento de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, México. 11. Facultad de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas. Tampico, Tamaulipas, México. 12. Coordinación de Psicología, Universidad La Salle Pachuca, Hidalgo, México. 13. Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York City, New York, USA. 14. Health Services Research Unit, IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Sexual minority college students are at a higher risk for suicidal thoughts and self-injurious behaviors compared to heterosexual students. Minority stress theory proposes sexual minority individuals experience higher stress due to stigma. Using a sample of Mexican college students, this study tested perceived life stress as a mediator of suicide and self-injury outcomes across various sexual orientation groups. METHODS: The sample of college students (N=7882) was recruited from nine Mexican universities as part of the WHO World Mental Health International College Student (WMH-ICS) initiative. Participants completed an online survey including demographic questions, measure of perceived life stress, suicide outcomes, and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in the past 12 months. RESULTS: Logistic regression analyses revealed identifying as a sexual minority significantly predicted a higher likelihood of suicide ideation (ORs 2.05-3.00), suicide attempts (ORs 2.48-8.73), and NSSI (ORs 2.92-4.18) compared to heterosexual students reporting no same-gender attraction. Significant indirect effects from mediation path analyses showed perceived life stress mediated the relationship between a sexual minority identity and suicide ideation (range of proportion mediated 10.48-31.48%), attempts (10.48-31.48%), and NSSI (7.69-20.09%) across each group except among asexual students. LIMITATIONS: The cross-sectional nature of the survey design precludes drawing causal inferences. CONCLUSION: Findings from this study contribute to minority stress theory by elucidating the role of perceived life stress as a mediator of suicide ideation and attempts and NSSI among sexual minority college students. Clinical interventions may benefit in focusing on experiences of stress across various life areas when supporting sexual minority college students.
BACKGROUND: Sexual minority college students are at a higher risk for suicidal thoughts and self-injurious behaviors compared to heterosexual students. Minority stress theory proposes sexual minority individuals experience higher stress due to stigma. Using a sample of Mexican college students, this study tested perceived life stress as a mediator of suicide and self-injury outcomes across various sexual orientation groups. METHODS: The sample of college students (N=7882) was recruited from nine Mexican universities as part of the WHO World Mental Health International College Student (WMH-ICS) initiative. Participants completed an online survey including demographic questions, measure of perceived life stress, suicide outcomes, and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in the past 12 months. RESULTS: Logistic regression analyses revealed identifying as a sexual minority significantly predicted a higher likelihood of suicide ideation (ORs 2.05-3.00), suicide attempts (ORs 2.48-8.73), and NSSI (ORs 2.92-4.18) compared to heterosexual students reporting no same-gender attraction. Significant indirect effects from mediation path analyses showed perceived life stress mediated the relationship between a sexual minority identity and suicide ideation (range of proportion mediated 10.48-31.48%), attempts (10.48-31.48%), and NSSI (7.69-20.09%) across each group except among asexual students. LIMITATIONS: The cross-sectional nature of the survey design precludes drawing causal inferences. CONCLUSION: Findings from this study contribute to minority stress theory by elucidating the role of perceived life stress as a mediator of suicide ideation and attempts and NSSI among sexual minority college students. Clinical interventions may benefit in focusing on experiences of stress across various life areas when supporting sexual minority college students.
Authors: Janis Whitlock; Jennifer Muehlenkamp; John Eckenrode; Amanda Purington; Gina Baral Abrams; Paul Barreira; Victoria Kress Journal: J Adolesc Health Date: 2012-12-03 Impact factor: 5.012
Authors: Randy P Auerbach; Philippe Mortier; Ronny Bruffaerts; Jordi Alonso; Corina Benjet; Pim Cuijpers; Koen Demyttenaere; David D Ebert; Jennifer Greif Green; Penelope Hasking; Sue Lee; Christine Lochner; Margaret McLafferty; Matthew K Nock; Maria V Petukhova; Stephanie Pinder-Amaker; Anthony J Rosellini; Nancy A Sampson; Gemma Vilagut; Alan M Zaslavsky; Ronald C Kessler Journal: Int J Methods Psychiatr Res Date: 2018-11-18 Impact factor: 4.035