Protecting urban American Indian young people from suicide

OBJECTIVE: To examine the likelihood of a past suicide attempt for urban American Indian boys and girls, given salient risk and protective factors. METHODS: Survey data from 569 urban American Indian, ages 9-15, in-school youths. Logistic regression determined probabilities of past suicide attempts. RESULTS: For girls, suicidal histories were associated with substance use (risk) and positive mood (protective); probabilities ranged from 6.0% to 57.0%. For boys, probabilities for models with violence perpetration (risk), parent prosocial behavior norms (protective), and positive mood (protective) ranged from 1.0% to 38.0%. CONCLUSIONS: Highlights the value of assessing both risk and protective factors for suicidal vulnerability and prioritizing prevention strategies.