Associations between discrimination and adverse mental health symptoms and disorder diagnoses among college students in the United States

Suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and self‐injury among American Indian, Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian college students in the United States from 2015 to 2019

“…Supporting other empirical evidence of the link between forms of trauma and suicidality, 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 this study also identified heightened suicidality risk for AI/AN/NH college students who experienced violence, abuse, discrimination, or other trauma. This study found that Native college students who experienced some form of violence or abuse had odds of suicide 1.5–2.8 times greater than those who did not face such adversities.…”

“…This is a notably stronger association than identified in the 2019 Health Minds study, which found college students of all races and ethnicities with a history of violence or abuse to have an odds of suicide 1.2–1.8 times greater than those who have not experience violence or abuse 46 . The association between discrimination and suicide among AI/AN/NH college students in this study did not yield an effect size as robust as other literature 47 . Research has identified that exposure to violence and discrimination are associated with depression, adverse mental health outcomes, and a reduction in feelings of hope, which are all associated with an increased risk of suicide 45,47,48 .…”

“… 46 The association between discrimination and suicide among AI/AN/NH college students in this study did not yield an effect size as robust as other literature. 47 Research has identified that exposure to violence and discrimination are associated with depression, adverse mental health outcomes, and a reduction in feelings of hope, which are all associated with an increased risk of suicide. 45 , 47 , 48 Therefore, efforts to reduce suicide at universities should also focus on evidence‐based policies that address violence and discrimination and provide support services to students victimized by these forms of marginalization.…”

Microaggressions, perceptions of campus climate, mental health, and alcohol use among first‐year college students of color

“…The links between microaggressions and outcomes appear to be more relevant to internalizing than externalizing outcomes (for a meta‐analysis, see Lui & Quezada, 2019), as do experiences of discrimination in general (Qeadan et al, 2022). However, other studies have shown that for college students of color, the stress associated with experiences of discrimination may play a more critical role in predicting problematic alcohol use (Metzger et al, 2018; Sue et al, 2019) and other substance use (e.g., marijuana; Pro et al, 2018).…”