Unique relations of avoidant, emotion, and problem focused coping and suicidality in a sample of sexual and gender minorities

Abstract

Individuals who identify as a sexual or gender minority experience health related disparities in suicidal ideation, behavior, and attempts. Although past research has demonstrated that specific stressors may be unique to sexual or gender minorities contributing to suicidal ideation (e.g., minority stress), little work has been dedicated to understanding the role specific coping styles play in their associations with suicidal ideation among individuals who identify as a sexual or gender minority. The present study sought to address this gap in research and evaluate the unique associations of avoidant, emotional, and problem focused coping on suicidal ideation after accounting for theoretically relevant covariates. Participants included 372 individuals who identified as either a sexual or gender minority (M_age = 20.76, 83.3 % identified as female, 47.8 % White or Caucasian, 16.1 % Southeast Asian, 7.8 % Black or African American, 7.8 % multi-racial, 7 % other, 4.6 % East Asian, 2.7 % American Indian/ Alaska Native, 0.5 % Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander). Results indicated that avoidant and emotional coping were associated with severity in suicidal ideation and suicidal cognitions, but avoidant coping was the only coping style that statistically significantly predicted greater likelihood of non-zero suicidal ideation/ cognition endorsement. Moreover, problem focused coping was the only style associated with less severe suicidal ideation and cognition. Overall, the present findings are the first to demonstrate unique associations of coping styles with suicidal ideation in the context of individuals who identify as a sexual or gender minority.