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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Joyce H. Chen, BS and Holly Prigerson, PhD. School of Medicine, Yale University, One Church St 7th floor, Program on Aging, New Haven, CT 06510, 203-764-9806, joyce.h.chen@yale.edu
Little is known about racial differences in risks for suicidality. The Yale Evaluation of Suicidality (YES) scale is a new instrument recently developed to detect a wider range of suicidal thoughts and behaviors than those identified by previous suicide scales. Because substance abusers have an elevated incidence of suicide, Black and White substance abusers were compared in risk factors to assess racial differences. Data on recent and past life events, suicidal behaviors, quality of life, social support, health and health service utilization, addictions, and psychiatric evaluation were obtained. To date, 114 subjects (62 White, 52 Black) have been interviewed. The YES has a high degree of internal consistency amongst Whites (alpha=.90) and Blacks (alpha=.84), and is a significant predictor of past and planned suicide attempts for both Whites and Blacks, suggesting the YES’ strong criterion and predictive validity for both groups. Significant (p<.05) risks for suicidality (YES scores) and suicide attempts among Whites were global mental health, social support, and depression; among Blacks, risks were severely disrupting life events and self-destructive behavior. Controlling for these risk factors and for age, the YES remains a significant predictor of past (O.R.=5.217 , p<.01) and planned (O.R.=2.789, p<.001) suicide attempts for Whites and of past (O.R.=1.662, p<.01) and planned (O.R.=1.904, p<.01) attempts for Blacks. Hopelessness was a risk factor for both Whites (b=.39, SE=.03, p<.0001) and Blacks (b=.30, SE=.05, p<.0001). Results demonstrated that Black and White substance abusers have different risk factors for suicidality. These results should guide clinicians in public health prevention measures for different racial groups.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Suicide, Minorities
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.