Suicide among adolescents in the United States (U.S.) is a major public health concern. Although there was a decline in suicide rates among adolescents in the U.S. between 2019 and 2020 (Ehlman et al., 2022), the decline was not consistent across all racial/ethnic groups, with racial/ethnic minority adolescents experiencing the most significant increases in suicide rates from 2010 to 2019 (Baiden et al., 2022; Platt et al., 2022). Suicidal thoughts and behaviors, or suicidality, operationalized as ideation, planning, and attempts is one of the most important predictors of death by suicide (Li et al., 2022). Although unusual prior to mid-adolescence, suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents aged 10–14 in the U.S. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). Simcock et al. (2021) examined data from a community sample of 12-year-olds and found that one in five reported suicidality within the past month.

The risk of suicidality is intensified by factors such as declining mental health, familial conflict, and psychosocial stressors (Grossberg and Rice, 2023; Hill et al., 2021; Yang, 2023). For adolescents of color, the risk of experiencing racism is a critical stressor to consider given the increase of suicide rates among minoritized racial/ethnic adolescents (Baiden et al., 2023a, Baiden et al., 2023b, Baiden et al., 2023c; Bridge et al., 2018). A recent study that utilized data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study of over 11,000 young adolescents aged 9 to 10 found that high perceived racial discrimination was positively associated with higher odds of suicidal ideation and behaviors even after adjusting for other forms of discrimination (Argabright et al., 2022).

Racism has been recognized as a major social determinant of health (Chambers et al., 2020, 2021; Gee et al., 2019) and has been found to increase the risk of depression, anxiety, psychological distress, and other mental health outcomes, including suicidality among adults (Lazaridou et al., 2023; Paradies et al., 2015). Scholars have noted that frequent exposure to perceived racial discrimination can trigger emotional and behavioral responses detrimental to mental health (Baiden et al., 2023a, Baiden et al., 2023b, Baiden et al., 2023c; Bravo et al., 2023; Fani and Khalsa, 2023). Among adolescents, a burgeoning number of studies have linked perceived racial discrimination to higher incidences of suicidality (Assari et al., 2017; Baiden et al., 2022; Del Toro and Wang, 2023; Walker et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2021). However, given that perceived racial discrimination among adolescents is likely underreported (Williams, 2016), and that structural racism is a major driver of systemic inequities in health outcomes (Mpofu et al., 2022; Nazroo et al., 2020; Trent et al., 2019; Williams et al., 2019), research that considers reported experiences of racism and adolescent's risk of racism is needed. Race/ethnicity is often used as a proxy for racism, but that measure alone fails to capture perceived racial discrimination (Adkins-Jackson et al., 2022; Robinson et al., 2020). Furthermore, studies that have created composite measures to examine racial discrimination, inclusive of frequency or intersections of race/ethnicity and discrimination, have found adverse mental health impacts among adolescents (Scheim and Bauer, 2019; Tobler et al., 2013), demonstrating the importance of composite measures when examining racial discrimination among adolescents. Moreover, there is a dearth of research examining the effects of perceived racial discrimination on suicidality among young adolescents, defined as adolescents between the ages of 10–14 (Caskey and Anfara, 2014), using longitudinal data. Furthermore, existing research on suicidality among adolescents tends to focus on risk factors with less focus on protective factors that may mitigate the impact of perceived racial discrimination on suicidality. Considering protective factors that may mitigate the impact of perceived racial discrimination is necessary for effective prevention and interventions to address suicidality.

Findings regarding the association between demographic factors such as sex and suicidality are mixed. Whereas some studies have found higher rates of suicidal ideation among females when compared to males (Baiden et al., 2022; Ziminski et al., 2022), others found no sex differences in suicide attempts (Eugene et al., 2023), and recent data suggests increased hospitalizations for suicidality among females since the COVID-19 pandemic (Gaylor et al., 2023; Yard et al., 2021). With respect to race/ethnicity, various studies using large nationally representative samples have found racial/ethnic minority adolescents are at significant risk of making a suicide attempt when compared to their non-Latine White counterparts (Baiden et al., 2020; Bridge et al., 2018; Lindsey et al., 2019). Additionally, there is some evidence demonstrating that adolescents from low-income households are more likely to report suicidality compared to their high-income counterparts (Goldstein et al., 2024; Wetherall et al., 2015).

In addition to demographic factors, studies have found that adolescents with high internalizing and externalizing behavior problems are more likely to experience suicidality (Clapham and Brausch, 2022; Levy et al., 2024; Ortin-Peralta et al., 2023; Witte et al., 2018; Zhang et al., 2023; Zhu et al., 2023). Indeed, mental health symptoms among young adolescents aged 10–11 are notably a cause for increased risk of suicidality (Eugene et al., 2023; Simcock et al., 2021), with factors such as reduced outdoor activities, social interaction, academic stress, and a decline in parent-child discussions and overall health conditions exacerbating the issue (Li et al., 2023). Suicidality can be a derivative manifestation of mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, with additional exacerbation from stress and distress, and structural adversities (Williams et al., 2022). Moreover, given the established link between racial discrimination and the risk of internalizing (Santo et al., 2024) and externalizing (Loyd et al., 2019) behavior problems, it is possible that internalizing and externalizing behavior problems may mediate the association between racial discrimination and suicidality.

Higher parental acceptance and parental monitoring have been found to be associated with a lower risk of suicidality among adolescents (Buitron et al., 2020; Klein et al., 2023; Moon et al., 2020; Rashid et al., 2018), while more family conflict is associated with a higher risk of suicidality among adolescents (Consoli et al., 2013; DeVille et al., 2020; Holland et al., 2017). While some research suggests a direct correlation between familial social support and decreased risk of suicidality, other studies have found that familial social support buffers the adverse effects of trauma and negative life events on suicidality (Kleiman and Liu, 2013; Klein et al., 2023). While parental monitoring is a pivotal aspect of the parent-child relationship, intended to protect adolescents and potentially mitigate mental health problems including suicidality (Chen and Kuo, 2023), some literature suggests that parental monitoring without parental warmth can damage trust, transforming into mistrustful surveillance and control rather than supportive protection (Son and Padilla-Walker, 2022). For instance, Lloyd et al. (2017) examined data from 1147 families in an Australian population-based longitudinal study and found that higher levels of parental warmth in early adolescence (ages 13–14) were inversely associated with depressive symptoms in young adulthood (ages 19–20). Additionally, systematic reviews and meta-analyses have shown stronger associations between higher parental warmth and lower levels of internalizing problems during adolescence (Manuele et al., 2023; Pinquart, 2017; Rose et al., 2018). The extant literature also suggest that while parental monitoring is intended to protect adolescents, certain practices such as invasion of privacy (Laird and Hawk, 2024) or snooping (Hawk et al., 2016; Modecki et al., 2022) can be counterproductive. These behaviors may lead to mistrust and weaken the parent-child communication and relationship (Arslan et al., 2024; Hawk et al., 2013). Taken together, the extant literature suggest that when adolescents perceive parental monitoring efforts as intrusive, they can negatively affect their psychological well-being (Kapetanovic et al., 2020) and secrecy with parents (Hawk et al., 2013).

This study is guided by Minority Stress Theory (MST), which posits that cultural minority groups are subject to frequent and harmful stressors, such as prejudice, oppression, and discrimination (Hayes et al., 2011; Meyer, 2003). Minoritized racial/ethnic individuals experience higher levels of depression, anxiety, and hopelessness than European Americans (Hayes et al., 2011). The association between minority stress and health disparities, particularly among minority adolescents, underscores the pervasive risk factors for suicidality (Mandatori et al., 2023; Mereish et al., 2023).

Although various cross-sectional studies have investigated the effects of perceived racial discrimination on suicidality among adolescents (Assari et al., 2017; Baiden et al., 2022; Del Toro and Wang, 2023; Walker et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2021), there is a dearth of research examining the effects of risk of racism on suicidality among young adolescents using longitudinal data. Furthermore, existing research on suicidality among adolescents rarely takes into protective factors that might mitigate against adverse life stressors on suicidality. Therefore, drawing on MST and using longitudinal data from the ABCD study, this study examines the association between the risk of experiencing racism and suicidality among young adolescents aged 11 and 12. We hypothesized that controlling for sociodemographic factors, 1) young adolescents with a high risk of experiencing racism will have higher odds of reporting suicidality compared to their low risk counterparts, 2) that higher scores of CBCL internalizing and externalizing behaviors will be associated with higher odds of reporting suicidality, and 3) high scores of parental acceptance and parental monitoring will be associated with lower odds of reporting suicidality.