Gendered racial microaggressions, internalized racism, and suicidal ideation among emerging adult Asian American women.

Abstract

Despite suicide being the leading cause of death among emerging adult Asian American women (AAW), little is known about the risk factors. We tested whether gendered racial microaggressions stress (GRMS) would be associated with AAW's suicidal ideation, and whether internalized racism (self-negativity, IRSN; weakness stereotypes, IRWS; and appearance bias, IRAB) would exacerbate this link based on self-devaluating implications of internalized racism. Using a sample of 309 AAW (Mage = 20.00, SD = 6.26), we conducted a moderated logistic regression with GRMS predicting suicidal ideation (endorsement or no endorsement) and the three internalized racism factors (IRSN, IRWS, and IRAB) as moderators. GRMS significantly predicted suicidal ideation with a threefold increase in the odds of suicidal ideation. Only IRSN significantly exacerbated this link at low to mean levels. Gendered racial microaggressions is likely a risk factor for suicidal ideation among AAW, particularly for those who internalize negative images of themselves as Asian individuals.