Risks & Protective Factors for Depression & Suicide Among Hawai‘i Agricultural Producers

ABSTRACT

Studies have consistently shown that agricultural producers in the continental United States have disproportionately high rates of depression and suicide as compared to other occupations. It is not known whether this is true in Hawaiʻi, which is both geographically distinct and ethnically diverse. To examine rates of depression and suicide as well as potential risk and protective factors, a state-wide mental health needs assessment was conducted from November 2021 to September 2022. We conducted a survey with a nonprobability-based convenience sample targeting agricultural producers across Hawaiʻi, and performed descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses. In a sample of 408 respondents, 35% (n = 143) had clinical depression symptomatology, and 8% (n = 33) had suicidal ideation based on the Patient Health Questionnaire−9. Older age was slightly protective in that every year of increase in age was associated with 0.98 times (95% CI: 0.96, 0.99) reduced odds of depression symptomatology, and 0.96 times (95% CI:0.94, 0.98) reduced odds of suicidal ideation. Identifying as East Asian had 2.04 times (95% CI: 1.16, 3.61) higher odds of depression symptomatology, and Southeast Asian had 3.04 times odds (95% CI:1.15, 8.00) of suicidal ideation. However, in the presence of stress and coping variables, the demographic factors became statistically non-significant. Instead, feeling stressed, uncertainty as the stressor, and media-focused coping were significant risk factors in increasing two to eight times the odds of depressive symptoms. For suicidal ideation, depression symptomatology increased odds by 31.95 (95% CI: 5.60–182.32), using media-focused coping increased 5.20 odds (95% CI: 1.66, 16.27), but problem-focused coping decreased 0.32 times odds (0.10, 0.99). Culturally specific prevention and intervention measures should be tailored for Hawai‘i agricultural producers with an emphasis toward younger, East, and Southeast Asian producers and attention toward providing skillful coping strategies for effective stress regulation and management.

KEYWORDS:

• Agriculture
• depression
• farmers
• farmers of color
• Hawai‘i
• mental health
• suicide

Acknowledgments

We wish to express our appreciation to Amjad Ahmad, Heather Greenwood, Shannon Sand, Melelani Oshiro, Emilie Kirk, Mayuho Kunogi, HFUU, and HFB for providing programmatic and research support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture (Contract No. 69794) through the Farm Ranch Stress Assistance Network-State Departments of Agriculture (FRSAN-SDA, 2021), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), U.S. Department of Agriculture Grant No. 2021-70035-35371. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and should not be construed to represent any official HDOA or USDA Government determination or policy.