Can anything protect teenagers who face racial or ethnic discrimination from having thoughts of suicide? Researchers tested two possibilities: being involved in the community, and feeling that you belong at school. They also asked whether either one softened the link between discrimination and suicidal thoughts.
The study used the 2021 California Health Interview Survey in the United States. It included 1,169 young people aged 12 to 17, with an average age of about 14½. It is a one-time snapshot, so it shows links, not causes. Suicidal thoughts here means thinking about ending one's own life.
Teens reporting discrimination had more than double the odds of suicidal thoughts
Teens who experienced racial or ethnic discrimination had higher odds of suicidal thoughts (aOR = 2.29, 95% CI 1.46 to 3.58). An aOR, or adjusted odds ratio, compares the odds of something happening in two groups after accounting for other factors. A value above 1 means higher odds. The 2.29 figure means the odds were more than twice as high for teens who reported discrimination.
This is a pattern across a group. It cannot tell us what is happening for any one child, and it cannot prove that discrimination caused the suicidal thoughts.
Belonging at school stood out as protective
A stronger sense of belonging at school was linked to lower odds of suicidal thoughts (aOR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.55 to 0.78). Because a value below 1 means lower odds, this was a clear and statistically significant link.
The authors say this supports school-based efforts to build belonging as part of suicide prevention. That recommendation is aimed at the U.S., and the study did not look at Singapore or other Asian settings.
What did not show up: community roles and a "cushion" effect
Three kinds of community engagement were not significantly linked to lower odds of suicidal thoughts:
- Civic efficacy, meaning a teen's belief that they can make a difference (aOR = 0.96)
- Community involvement (aOR = 0.83)
- Community leadership (aOR = 1.29)
The researchers also tested whether any of these, or school belonging, weakened the link between discrimination and suicidal thoughts. None did. The authors caution that the sample may have been too small to detect such effects, so this does not prove belonging has no cushioning role. In this data, discrimination and belonging each showed their own separate link.
Other limits apply. The data come from one US state in one year. The study measured the link at a single point in time, so it cannot say whether belonging protects teens or whether teens with suicidal thoughts simply feel less connected.
Two things parents can take from the findings
- Treat a teen's report of racial or ethnic discrimination seriously, since it was linked to 2.29 times the odds of suicidal thoughts.
- Notice whether your teen feels they belong at school, since a stronger sense of belonging was linked to lower odds (aOR = 0.66).