Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Health Services

Advisor

Srikanta K. Banerjee

Abstract

Suicidal ideation is a silent public health issue across the United States. Evidence suggests that suicidal ideation is a predictor of suicide attempt and completion. Suicide is a leading cause of death among American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIs/ANs) in the United States, especially among younger people. Alcohol and illicit drug use, coupled with poor social conditions, can lead to suicidal ideations—and sometimes suicide completion. Using social cognitive theory, this quantitative cross-sectional study compared variables within the 2017, 2018, and 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health to determine the effect that alcohol and/or illicit drug use has on suicidal ideations. The main independent variables were illicit drug use and alcohol use. The dependent variable was suicidal ideation and was analyzed using logistic regression. The study results revealed that age was statistically significantly associated with suicidal ideation among AIs/ANs (β = 0.423, p = 0.02, OR = 1.527 [95% CI: 1.075, 2.267]) in the model that controlled for weekly alcohol use, and gender was statistically significant to suicidal ideation (β = -0.770, p = 0.04, OR = 0.463 [95% CI: 0.225, 0.954]) in the model controlling for weekly marijuana/hashish use. While some of the confounders like age were significant in the illicit drug use /alcohol interaction model, the illicit drug use/alcohol interaction term, gender, educational level, and poverty level were not significant. This study has implications for social change, in that it may assist health care personnel and families in recognizing the risk for suicide and how to score risk factors encountered on a weekly basis.

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