Stigma and Health, Vol 8(4), Nov 2023, 428-436; doi:10.1037/sah0000303
Despite robust associations between discrimination and suicidality, the mechanisms underlying this relationship are poorly understood (Gomez et al., Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2011, 40, 1465; Hunger et al., Stigma and Health, 2020a, 5, 217). The current study tested whether discrimination leads to suicidal ideation through a process whereby social pain minimization erodes trust in bodily sensations. We predicted that among Black participants, discriminatory experiences would be related to social pain minimization and this invalidation in turn was predicted to relate to impaired trust in bodily sensation and ultimately, suicidal ideation. Given the systemic racism Black Americans experience, we recruited 341 Black participants and asked them to complete surveys assessing their experiences of discrimination, social pain minimization, bodily trust, and suicidal ideation. Findings supported the proposed model, and were consistent with the hypothesis that discrimination was related to suicidal ideation through minimization of social pain and reduced trust of body sensations. These findings suggest that clinical interventions targeting bodily trust and public health policy initiatives targeting social pain minimization may be useful methods of decreasing suicidal ideation in those that face discriminatory experiences. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)