Structural adverse childhood experiences associated with suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and repetitive nonsuicidal self-injury among racially and ethnically minoritized youth.

INTRODUCTION: High rates of suicidal ideation (SI), suicide attempts (SA), and repetitive nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among some ethnoracially minoritized United States youth populations may be related to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) with structural roots. METHODS: Using the 2013-2019 Minnesota Student Surveys, we assessed associations of student-reported structural ACEs (parental incarceration, housing instability, food insecurity, and foster care involvement) with SI, SA, and repetitive NSSI within the past 12 months using multilevel logistic regression stratified by ethnoracial group (American Indian/Alaskan Native [AIAN], Hmong, other Asian, Black Latino, other Latino, Somali, other Black/African American [AA], Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander [NHPI], and multiracial), and adjusted for sex, grade, ACEs experienced within one's household, mental health treatment, and perceived safety. RESULTS: Structural ACEs were strongly associated with increasing SI, SA, and NSSI. At ≥2 structural ACEs, repetitive NSSI rates ranged from 7% to 29% (female), 8% to 20% (male); SA rates ranged from 13% to 35% (female), 10% to 22% (male); and SI rates ranged from 31% to 50% (female), 20% to 32% (male). Black Latino, NHPI, AIAN, and Black/AA students most often reported structural ACE exposures. CONCLUSION: Reducing structural ACEs may reduce SI, SA, and repetitive NSSI among ethnoracially minoritized youth populations. Disaggregating diverse youth groups revealed variations in these outcomes that remain hidden when subpopulations are aggregated.

Racial Arrest Disparities in the USA by Rural-Urban Location and Region.

BACKGROUND: Urban racial arrest disparities are well known. Emerging evidence suggests that rural policing shares similar patterns as urban policing in the USA, but without receiving the same public scrutiny, raising the risk of biased rural policing going unnoticed. METHODS: We estimated adult and adolescent arrest rates and rate ratios (RR) by race, rural-urban status, and US region based on 2016 Uniform Crime Reporting Program arrest and US Census population counts using general estimating equation Poisson regression models with a 4-way interaction between race, region, age group, and urbanicity. RESULTS: With few exceptions, arrest rates were highest in small towns and rural areas, especially among Black and American Indian populations. Arrest rates differed between US regions with highest rates and racial disparities in the Midwest. For example, arrest rates among Black adults in the rural Midwest were 148.6 arrests [per 1000 population], 95% CI 131.4-168.0, versus 94.4 arrests, 95% CI 77.2-115.4 in the urban Midwest; and versus corresponding rural Midwest arrests among white adults, 32.7 arrests, 95% CI 30.8-34.8, Black versus white rural RR 4.54, 95% CI 4.09-5.04. Racial arrest disparities in the South were lower but still high, e.g., rural South, Black versus White adults, RR 1.86, 95% CI 1.71-2.03. CONCLUSIONS: Rural areas and small towns are potential hotspots of racial arrest disparities across the USA, especially in the Midwest. Approaches to overcoming structural racism in policing must include strategies targeted at rural/small town communities. Our findings underscore the importance of dismantling racist policing in all US communities.

US Mass public shootings since Columbine: victims per incident by race and ethnicity of the perpetrator.

White individuals in the United States (US) have historically had disproportionate access to firearms. The real-life availability of firearms, including those most lethal, may still be greater among White populations, manifesting in the number of victims in shootings. We compared the severity of US mass public shootings since Columbine by race and/or ethnicity of the perpetrator using The Violence Project Database of Mass Shooters, assessing fatalities (minimum four), total victims, type, and legal status of guns used. We used data visualization and Quasi-Poisson regression of victims minus four - accounting for truncation at 4 fatalities - to assess fatality and total victim rates comparing Non-Hispanic (NH) White with NH Black shooters, using winsorization to account for outlier bias from the 2017 Las Vegas shooting. In 104 total mass public shootings until summer 2021, NH White shooters had higher median fatalities (6 [IQR 5-9] versus 5 [IQR 4-6]) and total victims (9 [IQR 6-19] versus 7 [IQR 5-12]) per incident. Confidence intervals of NH Black versus NH White fatalities rate ratios (RR) ranged from 0.17-1.15, and of total victim RRs from 0.15-1.04. White shooters were overrepresented in mass public shootings with the most victims, typically involving legally owned assault rifles. To better understand the consequences when firearms are readily available, including assault rifles, we need a database of all US gun violence. Our assessment of total victims beyond fatalities emphasizes the large number of US gun violence survivors and the need to understand their experiences to capture the full impact of gun violence.

Weapon Carrying Among Boys in US Schools by Race and/or Ethnicity: 1993-2019.

BACKGROUND: High adolescent gun-related mortality, gun violence, pro-gun policies, white supremacy, and the long-term socioeconomic and other effects of racial oppression are intricately linked in the United States. Racist prejudice depicts male individuals of color as more prone to criminality than white male individuals. We described long-term patterns of weapon carrying in US schools among non-Hispanic (NH) white, NH Black/African American, and Hispanic boys, hypothesizing that in contrast to racist stereotypes, boys of color did not bring weapons into schools more often than NH white boys in recent years. METHODS: We conducted a time series analysis using 1993-2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System data comparing boys' self-reported weapon carrying in a nationally representative sample of US high schools by race and/or ethnicity, age, and self-reported experience of safety and violence at school. RESULTS: Weapon carrying in schools has declined among all boys. Comparing all schools, we found no significant differences in weapon carrying (4%-5%) by race and/or ethnicity in 2017 and 2019. Boys who reported experiencing violence or feeling unsafe at school were at least twice as likely to bring a weapon into school, and such negative experiences were more common among boys of color (8%-12%) than among NH white boys (4%-5%). In schools perceived as safer, NH white boys have been more likely to bring weapons into schools than NH Black/African American or Hispanic boys in the past 20 years. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings contradict racist prejudice with regard to weapon carrying in schools, particularly in more favorable school environments. Making schools safer may reduce weapon carrying in schools where weapon carrying is most common.

Acculturation and ethnic group differences in well-being among Somali, Latino, and Hmong adolescents.

Research addressing the linkages between acculturation and markers of adolescent well-being across multiple ethnic minority groups is limited in scope and breadth, even though children of immigrant origin are the fastest growing population. We examined cross-sectional relationships between acculturation and substance use, socioemotional well-being, and academic achievement. Somali, Latino, and Hmong adolescents in Minnesota provided data as part of the EAT 2010 (Eating and Activity in Teens) cohort study (N = 1,066). Acculturation was based on nativity, language usually spoken at home, and length of residence in the United States. Chi-square, ANOVA, and regression models were used to test for differences in adolescent well-being by acculturation and ethnic group, and interaction terms were added to models to test effect modification by ethnicity. Hmong adolescents had the highest mean acculturation scores (4.4 ± 1.5), whereas Somali adolescents (2.2 ± 1.8) were the least acculturated. Independent of ethnicity, acculturation was positively associated with marijuana (OR: 1.38; CI [1.25, 1.53]) and alcohol use (OR: 1.12; CI [1.02, 1.22]), and was negatively associated with academic achievement, based on grade point average (ß = -0.07; CI [-0.12, -0.03]). Interaction effects indicated significant differences by ethnicity only for academic achievement; significant associations between acculturation and academic achievement were evident only for Somali and Latino youth. Prevention programming should include supports for multilingual and multicultural learners and account for cultural assets within immigrant origin families that maintain and nurture protective factors as adolescents acculturate and transition into young adulthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Family weight teasing, ethnicity and acculturation: Associations with well-being among Latinx, Hmong, and Somali Adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the prevalence of weight-based teasing by family members and associations with unhealthy weight control behaviors, body satisfaction, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms among adolescents from three immigrant communities (Latinx, Hmong, and Somali). METHODS: Data come from EAT 2010, a population-based study of weight and related behaviors (N = 1577, mean age = 14.5 years). Adjusted models tested associations between weight-based teasing and well-being, controlling for BMI and ethnic group; effect modification by ethnic group and acculturation were also explored. RESULTS: Family weight-based teasing was common (12.1%-42.9% reporting this experience across gender and ethnic groups) and was associated with all four measures of well-being in the expected direction. Associations were statistically equivalent in all ethnic groups and were not modified by acculturation. CONCLUSION: Youth from immigrant communities experience family weight-based teasing and associated threats to well-being. Additional research is needed to further understand the cultural context of weight-based teasing and develop relevant prevention messages.

Religious Coping, Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety, and Well-Being Among Somali College Students.

This study examined the associations between positive and negative religious coping, symptoms of depression and anxiety, physical and emotional well-being among Somali college students in Minnesota. In this online cross-sectional survey study, 156 participants (ages 18-21, M = 21, SD = 2.3) were recruited. Participants reported using more positive religious coping methods. Negative religious coping was associated with an increase in symptoms of both depression (b = .06, p = .003) and anxiety (b = .04, p = .05), and positive religious coping was associated with a decrease in symptoms of depression (b = -.04, p = .05).