Asian Americans’ proportion of life in the United States and suicide ideation: The moderating effects of ethnic subgroups.

Abstract

Although the past decade has witnessed a growth in research on Asian Americans' suicide-related outcomes, previous studies have tended not to address within-group ethnic variability among Asian Americans. Therefore, this study examined ethnic differences in suicide ideation in a nationally representative sample of Asian Americans that included the six largest Asian American ethnic groups-Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese Americans. Participants were 1,332 Asian American adults who participated in the National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions. The authors found that participants who had lived a longer proportion of their lives in the United States had increased odds of lifetime suicide ideation. There were significant ethnic differences in suicide ideation rates, with Korean Americans and Indian Americans reporting the highest and lowest ideation rates, respectively. Ethnicity was also a significant moderator of the relationship between proportion of life in the United Sates and suicide ideation. The potential adverse impact of proportion of life in the United States on suicide ideation was weaker among Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese Americans, relative to non-Chinese, non-Japanese, non-Korean, and non-Vietnamese Asian Americans, respectively. In contrast, the association between proportion of life in the United States and suicide ideation was stronger among Indian Americans than among non-Indian Americans. These findings underscore the importance of disaggregating data on Asian American suicide-related outcomes.

Suicide Risk among Immigrants and Ethnic Minorities: A Literature Overview

“…A rate of 37.7/1000/year was found for South Asian women as compared to 23.3/1000/year for white women and 23.9/1000/year for black women [ 36 ]. Black and Asian minority groups in Europe and the USA were shown to have an increased risk of developing mental health problems as well as a higher risk of associated factors for suicide attempts [ 23 , 36 , 37 ].…”

Cross-national comparisons of increasing suicidal mortality rates for Koreans in the Republic of Korea and Korean Americans in the USA, 2003–2012

“…Little research specific to Korean Americans exists that describes potential drivers for suicide to help explain how they have the greatest absolute burden of suicide of all Asian American subgroups. Meanwhile, research in Asian Americans more broadly have shown that Korean Americans experience twice the rate of depression of Chinese Americans (Kim et al 2015) and the highest rate of suicidal ideation among Asian American subgroups (Wong et al 2013). Korean Americans also have the highest rates of alcohol use among Asian American subgroups (Lee et al 2013), which has been linked with increased suicide risk (Groves et al 2007).…”

“…A meta-analysis and systematic review also revealed that rates of depression, one of the most important risk factors for suicide, were twice as high among Korean Americans as Chinese Americans (Kim et al 2015). Korean Americans were also more likely to report suicidal ideation, at three times the rate of other Asian American subgroups (Wong et al 2013).…”

“…Besides the methodological challenges of collecting health data on Asian American subgroups, suicide mortality is particularly difficult to assess due to sociocultural reasons, underreporting and potential misclassification (O'Carroll, 1989). In the absence of data on suicide mortality, a few studies have sought to understand suicidal behaviours among Asian American subgroups (Duldulao et al 2009; Cheng et al 2010; Wong et al 2013). However, within this research, the sample sizes for Korean Americans are small ( n = 127 for the largest study), preventing both a comprehensive descriptive analysis of Korean Americans and a detailed comparative understanding of suicide in Korean Americans relative to other Asian American subgroups.…”

Comparison of Suicide Rates Among Asian Americans in 2000 and 2010

“…Prior studies on suicidal behaviors among Asian Americans have focused on suicide ideation and attempt (Cheng et al., 2010; Duldulao, Takeuchi, & Hong, 2009; Kuroki, 2015; Kuroki & Tilley, 2012; Wong, Vaughan, Liu, & Chang, 2014) rather than complete suicide. Studies that used the National Latino and Asian American Study dataset found no difference in rates of suicide ideation and attempt among Asian ethnic groups, namely Chinese, Filipino, Vietnamese, and “Other Asian”(Cheng et al., 2010; Duldulao et al., 2009; Kuroki & Tilley, 2012).…”