Institute for the Study of Societal Issues

Suicide is the leading cause of non-accidental death for Native American young people ages 15-24 years old. Concerningly, suicide rates have continued to rise over the past decade despite a myriad of prevention efforts. This shortcoming has urged some scholars to (re)examine key theoretical constructs to better direct suicide prevention efforts in tribal communities. Using Indigenous Wholistic Theory, an algorithmic approach was employed to identify a broader set of factors that may influence suicidal ideation among Native American high schoolers in California (n = 2,609). Lasso penalized regression was used to select the most accurate predictors of suicidal ideation. Ten out of the 17 input predictors were significant including: depressive symptoms; school-based victimization; sexual and gender minority status; lifetime use of alcohol, vapes, and cannabis; breakfast consumption; access to alcohol and other drugs; and parent education level. The study found that a combination of factors across individual, emotional-social, mental-political, and physical-economic domains could be used to predict the individualized risk of experiencing suicidal ideation. I argue that this multi-level wholistic model is more appropriate and useful, especially for Native American youth. The study highlights the need for a more comprehensive understanding of suicide-related behavior among Native American youth and points to new directions in suicide screening.