Depressed Mood and Loneliness as Predictors of Suicide Risk in Latino College Students: Some Evidence for an Interactive Model

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents, exhibiting why suicide ideation studies are necessary today (Cash & Bridge, 2009). Past studies indicate depressed mood and loneliness successfully predict suicide risk in adults (Brown, Beck, Steer, & Grisham, 2000; Weber, Metha, Nelsen, 2008). Despite the Latino population representing the largest ethnic minority group in America, the examination of depressed mood and loneliness together as predictors of suicide risk in Latinos has not been conducted (U.S. Census Bureau, 2016). We examined the role of depressed mood and loneliness(viz., hopelessness & suicidal behaviors) in a sample of 156 Latinos in predicting suicide risk. Correlational analysis indicated significant positive associations between depressed mood and suicide risk (rs = .57 & .61) and loneliness and suicide risk (rs = .49 & .54). Additionally, depressed mood and loneliness were positively associated (r = .59). Further examining for interactive roles of depressed mood and loneliness, we conducted a set of hierarchical regression analyses. In Step 1, we included age and sex as control variables. In Step 2, we entered depressed mood and loneliness as predictors, followed by the interaction term in Step 3. Results of analyses predicting hopelessness indicated depressed mood (β = .46, p < .001) and loneliness (β = .26, p < .001) accounted for 40% of the variance in hopelessness, beyond age and sex. The interaction term was found to account for 4% of the variance in hopelessness. Similarly, depressed mood (β = .43, p < .001) and loneliness (β = .25, p < .001) were found to account for 35% of the variance in suicidal behaviors beyond age and sex. Finally, the interaction term accounted for an additional 5% of the variance in suicidal behaviors. Collectively, our findings indicate the importance of understanding depressed mood and loneliness as both unique and interactive predictors of suicide risk in Latino adults.