UC San Diego

Suicidality is a considerable problem and there has been a recent focus on its toll among college students. Suicidal ideation (SI) is considered a necessary, although not sufficient precursor to suicide and is also a significant problem. An estimated 40% to 50% of college students report they have considered suicide. While many factors influence SI, individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and heavy alcohol involvement (AI) consistently appear to be at increased risk. SI, MDD, and AI vary between women and men and across ethnic groups. However, data regarding Asian Americans are scarce and in existing studies, multiple subgroups are often aggregated. The current study explores the relationship between SI, MDD, and AI in college students from three ethnic backgrounds: Chinese (n = 190), Korean (n = 214), and White (n = 200) Americans. It was hypothesized that SI, MDD, and AI would differ across sex and ethnicity. An exploratory model specifying MDD and AI as correlated predictors of SI was tested; it was further hypothesized that ethnicity would moderate the relationships between these variables. Over one-third of the sample reported lifetime SI. No sex differences were found, although when aggregated, Chinese and Koreans had a higher rate of SI than Whites. Ten percent of the sample met lifetime criteria for MDD, with women having a higher rate than men; no ethnic differences were found. Results regarding the AI variables (i.e., age of drinking initiation, maximum number of drinks ever consumed within 24 hours, and number of alcohol dependence symptoms) differed by sex and ethnicity. Generally, women exhibited lower levels of AI variables than men and Chinese exhibited lower levels of AI variables than Koreans and Whites. The hypothesis of moderation by ethnicity was supported. Results suggest that the relationships between SI, MDD, and AI are different for Chinese compared to Koreans and Whites. Current findings highlight heterogeneity among Asian-American subgroups and help explicate the relationship between suicidality and two robust risk factors.