A preliminary examination of interpersonal factors and psychological pain as predictors of suicidal behaviors in multiethnoracial college students: When does being ethnoracially diverse contribute to greater suicide risk?

Abstract

This study sought to extend past research on suicide risk factors in White students and explore whether such risk factors were comparably relevant in an underrepresented group of multiethnoracial students. Specifically, interpersonal factors (viz., burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness) and psychological pain (or "psychache") were examined in predicting suicidal behaviors. Results from conducting hierarchical regression analyses indicated that for both groups, independent of demographic factors (age and sex) and history of a past suicide attempt, burdensomeness, and psychological pain were found to be significant predictors of suicidal behaviors. Moreover, a significant Burdensomeness × Psychological Pain effect was found in predicting suicidal behaviors for multiethnoracial students, but not for White students. Some implications of the present findings regarding the potential added risk of suicide associated with being multiethnoracial are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).