Does purpose in life or ethnic identity moderate the association for racial discrimination and suicide ideation in racial/ethnic minority emerging adults?

Abstract

To examine purpose in life (PIL) and ethnic identity (EI) as buffers to suicide ideation for Asian American, Hispanic, and Black emerging adults who perceive racial discrimination. Two-hundred eighty-nine undergraduate students enrolled at a large university in the southwestern region of the United States (40.8% Asian American, 32.5% Hispanic, 26.6% Black; 61.2% women; mean age = 20.47, SD = 1.83) reported on experiences of racial discrimination, PIL, EI, and suicidal thoughts. Covariates were intrinsic religiosity, gender, and age. Regression analysis showed that EI was not a significant moderator for the association between perceived racial discrimination (PRD) and suicidal ideation (β = -.08, p = .13; 95% confidence interval (CI) [-.19, .03]). However, PIL was a significant moderator (β = -.11, p = .025; CI [-.20, -.01]). A hierarchical regression showed that PIL as a moderator explained additional variance (ΔR2 = 0.11, p < .001) in suicide ideation above and beyond EI. These findings provide some insight into how life purpose might ameliorate the impact of social stressors above and beyond a positive cultural identity for young racial/ethnic minority adults. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).