The Relationship Between Major and Everyday Discrimination and Suicide Thoughts and Behaviors Among a Sample of Socially Anxious Job Seekers

Discrimination predicts psychopathology, including suicide risk. Few studies have examined broad effects of major and everyday discrimination. This study examined whether major and everyday discrimination predicted suicide thoughts and behaviors in a diverse sample of socially anxious adults (N = 295). Exploratory analyses assessed the moderating role of identity and mediating role of depressive symptoms. Everyday discrimination predicted suicide thoughts and behaviors (p = .04). This relationship was reduced to nonsignificance after controlling for depression (p = .16). Identity characteristics did not moderate this relationship (p > .05). Depressive symptoms mediated the relationship between everyday discrimination and suicide thoughts and behaviors (95% CI [.001, .006]). Major events did not predict suicide thoughts and behaviors before or after controlling for depression (p > .12). Findings highlight the relevance of repeated instances of discrimination to suicide risk and relatedly, the importance of comprehensive discrimination assessments in research and clinical practice.