Suicide Prevention for Sexual and Gender Minority Youth (Randomized Controlled Trial)

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death among all U.S. citizens, and is the 2nd leading cause of death among youth and emerging adults between the ages of 15 and 34. Moreover, U.S. representative data indicate increasing trends in suicide attempts and death by suicide. In addition to the immense psychological burden experienced by the family and friends of individuals who attempt and complete suicide, the costs of death by suicide and suicide attempts in 2013 were estimated at $93.5 billion.

One group that is particularly vulnerable to suicide is sexual and gender minorities (SGMs). SGM is an umbrella term used to describe individuals who identify as non-exclusively heterosexual (e.g., gay, lesbian, bisexual) and/or as transgender/non-binary (e.g., identify as a gender different from their birth sex). Extant research consistently notes substantial mental health disparities among SGMs in comparison to their heterosexual and cis-gender counterparts. In 2017, in the U.S., 23% of sexual minority youth reported one or more suicide attempts (in the past 12 months) vs. 5.4% of heterosexual youth. This disparity has also been noted in a meta-analysis of population-based longitudinal studies, with sexual minority adolescents and emerging adults reporting 2.26 increased odds of suicide attempts compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Prevalence of lifetime suicide attempts among gender minorities is also substantially elevated compared to the general population, with 45% of 18-24-year-old transgender individuals reporting history of one or more suicide attempts.

Despite these substantial health disparities in suicide among SGM youth/emerging adults, no known suicide prevention programs exist for this highly vulnerable population. Given this crucial gap in the literature, the proposed study will adapt and test a patient navigation (PN) intervention for SGM youth/emerging adults designed to target mechanisms (i.e., decreasing thwarted belongingness and increasing suicide-related coping skills) that theoretically underlie suicide. The intervention integrates a single-session, empirically supported, suicide prevention intervention (Safety Planning Intervention; SPI) with PN services (PN+SPI). The patient navigator will deliver the SPI and continue frequent contact for the purpose of providing motivational enhancement, problem-solving, reinforcing coping strategies, and connecting participants to social support and mental health resources (e.g., SGM-specific support groups within the community). After completing the development of the PN+SPI intervention during a previous phase of the project, this study will accomplish the following specific aims:

Specific Aim 2: To conduct a pilot randomized controlled trial of the integrated PN+SPI by comparing it to the safety planning intervention alone to assess feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy. We plan to randomize 170 SGM youth/emerging adults to either the PN+SPI or SPI alone and follow participants for 12 months. It is expected that the pilot trial will provide additional information about the feasibility and acceptability of the PN+SPI intervention and study methods, in preparation for a future full-scale efficacy trial. In addition, the pilot test will evaluate its preliminary impact on suicide attempts. It is hypothesized that participants assigned to the PN+SPI intervention will demonstrate lower suicide attempts in comparison to participants assigned to the SPI alone condition.

Specific Aim 3: To conduct longitudinal analysis of the mechanisms of action of the integrated PN+SPI. To understand the mechanisms of change in the PN+SPI intervention, we will assess the theoretical purported targets (i.e., decreases in thwarted belongingness and increases in suicide-related coping skills). We hypothesize that participants assigned to the PN+SPI intervention will demonstrate clinically meaningful changes in the target variables relative to participants assigned to the SPI alone condition. Subsequently, these changes in proposed targets will predict changes in suicidal attempts.