Risk and Protective Factors Associated with Asian American Students' Suicidal Ideation: A Multicampus, National Study

Risk and protective factors associated with suicidal ideation among 1,377 Asian American college students across 66 U.S. campuses were examined. The results indicated a variety of factors were associated with morbid thoughts: medication for mental health concerns, gender, GPA, undergraduate status, religious affiliation, living with a family member, living with a partner, and active participation in student organizations. Furthermore, some of these factors were related to serious consideration of suicide: medication for mental health concerns, undergraduate status, living with family, and active participation in student organizations. Among Asian Americans who seriously considered suicide in the past 12 months, recent family, academic, and financial problems were the top three most frequent significant events occurring before the development of suicidal ideation. (Contains 2 tables.)