Citation

Kaslow NJ, Sherry A, Bethea K, Wyckoff S, Compton MT, Bender Grall M, Scholl L, Price AW, Kellermann A, Thompson N, Parker R. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 2005; 35(4): 400-412.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Grady Health System, 80 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, USA. nkaslow@emory.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1521/suli.2005.35.4.400

PMID

16178695

Abstract

A case-control study was conducted to examine a broad array of potential social risk and protective factors for suicide attempt among 200 African American men and women receiving care at a large, public, urban hospital. Specifically, we examined the effect of the following potential risk factors for suicide attempt: life hassles, partner abuse, partner dissatisfaction, and racist events; as well as the following potential protective factors: effectiveness of obtaining resources, social embeddedness, and social support. Using logistic regression, suicide attempter status was predicted by two independently significant social variables: one risk factor (life hassles) and one protective factor (social support). Male versus female suicide attempters were not distinguished by the social variables. These findings, which support the utility of an ecological conceptualization of risk and protective factors for suicide attempt, help to clarify the independently significant social environment risk and protective factors for suicide attempts among economically disadvantaged African Americans in particular. Research on both risk factors and protective factors provide a basis for culturally competent interventions aimed at reducing both the risk of future suicide attempts and completions.