Does Social Support Moderate Between Depression and Suicidal Ideation in Low-Income African Americans?

Historically rates of death by suicide in African Americans have been lower than in other communities, although no ethno-racial differences have emerged in rates of suicidal ideation. Despite the fact that suicidal ideation impacts millions of people every year and is commonly reported by individuals who have attempted suicide, it has not been a focus of investigation among African American adults. One major predictor of suicidal ideation is depressive symptoms, although this association in African Americans has received little empirical attention. This study examines the impact of one potential culturally relevant moderator, social support, on the link between depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation in a sample of low income, African American adults with a recent suicide attempt (n = 267). Correlational analyses confirmed a positive, significant relation between depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation among the entire sample and separately for women and men. Linear regression analyses revealed that friend, but not family, support moderated the association between depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation, when controlling for homelessness. This moderating effect, however, was only found for the women (n = 152) in the sample. The results highlight the value of social support from friends in fostering resilience against suicidal ideation in high-risk low-income African American women.