The associations between social support and negative social interaction with suicidal ideation in US Chinese older adults

Abstract

To examine associations between social support and negative social interaction with past suicidal ideation (SI) at multiple time intervals. The study used cross-sectional data collected from 3157 US Chinese older adults in Chicago to assess past 2-week, 1-month, 1-year, and lifetime SI. Self-perceived social support and negative social interaction were measured. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associations. People perceived more social support and less negative social interaction were 17–19% less likely to have SI. People perceived more social support were 14–20% less likely to have SI. Meanwhile, people perceived more negative social interaction were 28–37% more likely to have SI. The independent associations between different social interaction and SI are significant regardless of the time intervals. Research should pay attention not only to bolstering perceptions of social support, but also to strategies that help individuals cope with the influence of negative social interactions.

Keywords:

• Social support
• negative social interaction
• suicidal ideation
• Chinese American
• aging

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.