School Climate and Parental Involvement Buffer the Risk of Peer Victimization on Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Among Asian American Middle School Students

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among Asian American youth. Few studies have examined the risk and protective factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) for Asian American middle school students. This study used data from the Georgia Student Health Survey 2.0 to examine the relationship between individual (gender, grade level, substance use, mental health difficulties, face-to-face victimization, and cyber victimization), school (school climate, racial diversity at school, school size, student-teacher ratio, and socioeconomic status), and familial (parental involvement) predictors of STB among 12,511 Asian American middle school students from 510 schools (50.1% girls). Results showed that both face-to-face and cyber victimization predicted higher levels of STB. Positive school climate at the individual level buffered the relationship between face-to-face victimization and STB, whereas positive school climate at the school level buffered the relationship between cyber victimization and STB. Gender was also a significant moderator of these relationships. Specifically, both types of peer victimization predicted more STB for girls than for boys. Parental involvement mitigated the relationship between face-to-face victimization and STB for girls. Positive school climate at the individual level buffered the relationship between cyber victimization and STB for boys. Findings highlight the importance of school climate, parental involvement, and gender differences in STB among Asian American students.