Nou Tout Pa Menm: An Exploration of Suicidality Among College Students of Color
Open Access
- Author:
- Elibox, Shernell
- Graduate Program:
- Counselor Education (PHD)
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- July 05, 2023
- Committee Members:
- Elizabeth Prosek, Professor in Charge/Director of Graduate Studies
Elizabeth Prosek, Major Field Member
Abenaa Jones, Outside Unit Member
Kristen Nadermann, Chair & Dissertation Advisor
Brian Belland, Outside Field Member - Keywords:
- Suicide among college students of color
suicide predictors among college students
suicide and culture
suicide and race - Abstract:
- College aged students have one of the highest rates of suicidality, however, research on suicidality often negates the experiences of college students of color. The sample included 122,465 college students of color and explored the relationship between suicidality and variables such as academic distress, clinician initial assessment of suicidality, current financial status, family distress, family support, outcome suicide self-report, distress index at the start and end of treatment, past financial status, prior mental health hospitalization, social support, suicide attempt and initial self-report of suicide. Data analysis included chi square, t tests, binary logistic regression and wilcox signed ranks test. The results indicated that there was a relationship between prior hospitalization for mental health and suicidality at the start of treatment. However, there was no effect of prior hospitalization and client report of suicidal ideation in the past two weeks. The results also revealed that there exists a relationship between academic distress, family distress, substance use and overall psychological distress and having made a suicide attempt in the past year. The study also revealed a relationship between family support and current financial status on suicidality but no such relationship between social support and past financial status among college students of color. Finally, the study found that clinician endorsement of suicide as a primary presenting concern had no effect on treatment outcomes. suicidality and overall distress decreased for all clients despite clinician endorsement. An exploration of study findings, limitations and implications for the field are discussed.