TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2023//
TI  - Immigration status, legal vulnerability, and suicidal/self-harm ideation disparities among immigrant-origin Latinx young adults in the US
JO  - Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities
A1  - Hagan, Melissa J.
A1  - Hernandez, Martha Morales
A1  - Enriquez, Laura E.
A1  - Ayón, Cecilia
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - Theories of suicidality typically center intrapersonal processes, with limited attention to social determinants of mental health disparities. Using a legal vulnerability framework, we examined the association between self/parental immigration status and suicidal and self-harm ideation (SI) disparities in three groups of immigrant-origin Latinx young adults attending college in the USA: undocumented students (n = 564), US citizens with undocumented parents (n = 605), and US citizens with lawfully present parents (n = 596). We also evaluated whether self/parental immigration status differences in SI could be accounted for by six dimensions of legal vulnerability and, based on prominent theories of suicidality, explored the role of campus belongingness as a protective factor. Participants completed self-report measures, and SI was assessed using one item from the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, a screening tool that assesses the severity of depression symptomatology. Rates of SI were significantly higher among undocumented students (23.1%) and US citizens with undocumented parents (24.3%) compared to US citizens with lawfully present parents (17.8%). Immigration policy-related social exclusion and discrimination-mediated self/parental immigration status differences in SI. Although food insecurity did not differ by self/parental immigration status, greater food insecurity was associated with higher likelihood of SI. Greater campus belongingness was associated with a lower likelihood of endorsing SI for all students regardless of immigration status or legal vulnerability factors. <br><br>FINDINGS underscore the importance of examining self and parental immigration status as a social determinant of SI and the value of investigating aspects of legal vulnerability as explanatory factors.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 2197-3792
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40615-023-01682-7
ID  - ref1
ER  -