Abstract
Sexual minority individuals are at increased risk of suicide compared to their heterosexual counterparts (Bolton & Sareen 2011; Hottes, et al., 2016; Fish et al., 2019). This increased suicide risk is believed to be due to chronic experiences of stress such as discrimination and ostracization (Meyer, 2003). Like sexual minority individuals, people of color (POC) also experience discrimination in addition to acculturative stress; however, they experience lower rates of suicide compared to the general U.S. population (CDC, 2021). An often-cited explanation for these lower suicide rates is the presence of protective cultural factors (e.g., interdependence, religiosity, enculturation; Horevitz & Organista, 2013). Even though 42% of sexual and gender minority individuals identify as POC, little empirical attention has been paid to this intersectional population and their risk for suicide (Williams Institute, 2019; Bowleg, 2008; Sears et al., 2021). As hypothesized, among a sample of 303 people of color (153 heterosexual and 150 sexual minority individuals), analyses revealed that sexual minorities endorsed greater suicidal ideation compared to heterosexual individuals up to 35 years of age. Also, greater interdependence and religiosity were associated with lower levels of suicidal ideation among heterosexual and sexual minorities alike. Counter to hypotheses, enculturation was not associated with suicidal ideation, and greater acculturation was associated with lower levels of suicidal ideation. Against expectations, sexual orientation did not moderate any of the relationships between cultural factors (interdependence, religiosity, and enculturation) or acculturation and suicidal ideation. Protective factors are largely understudied compared to risk factors, but the results of this current study suggest that, despite sexual minorities presenting with greater suicidal ideation compared to their heterosexual counterparts, certain cultural factors may help shape culturally informed suicide interventions for sexual minority POC to reduce suicide outcomes.