Research shows suicide rates among Asian American or Pacific Islander youth have increased sharply between 1999 and 2021

A study that looked at 1,880 Asian American or Pacific Islander youth who committed suicide in their first two decades found that suicide rates increased 72% for men and 125% for women. Suicide rates for men peaked in 2019 and for women in 2020. Suicide is the leading cause of death for Asian American and Pacific Islander youth.

The results, based on the National Center for Health Statistics for Asian American or Pacific Islander youth ages 10 to 19 who committed suicide, were: published in the July 25 issue of JAMA Network Opened.

The study authors, Brian TaeHyuk, assistant professor in the Buehler Family Sesquicentennial Endowed Program at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development in British Columbia; Seungbin Oh, assistant professor in the Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine Program at Boston University; and Arielle H. Sheftall, associate professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center, suspect that economic downturns during the Great Recession and cyberbullying with the rise of social media platforms were possible culprits.

In the US, Asian American individuals are the fastest growing demographic group, while Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are the third fastest growing group.

The authors point to mental health problems, particularly among male Pacific Islander household heads during the 2007-2009 recession, that may have increased the risk factor for suicide among young men. At the same time, online sexism and racism against Asian women increased, which may have increased the risk factor for women.

Finally, intersectional discrimination—the composite factors of race and gender—may have contributed to the greater increase in suicide rates among women relative to men.

In an accompanying commentary by Anthony L. Bui, MD, of the Seattle Children’s Research Institute, and Anna S. Lau of UCLA, the authors emphasize that despite the critical importance of preventing suicide among this growing population, mental health research among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders has historically been understudied and underfunded nationally.

“To address rising youth suicide rates, we need meaningful investments in translational spectrum research, intentional clinician workforce development to serve this community across all sectors of youth care, improved surveillance, and culturally responsive, evidence-based, and community-based interventions to support the mental health of Asian American and Pacific Islander people,” the researchers said.