# Intersectional Stigma, Belongingness, and Suicide: A Novel Approach for Minority Mental Health.

> **NIH NIH F31** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $46,753

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
A critical barrier to progress in the fields of suicide research and minority mental health disparities is the lack of
appropriate conceptualization of at-risk groups. Past research indicates that immigrant generation is a more
meaningful measure of suicidality than racial/ethnic categorization. Based on comprehensive findings from the
National Latino and Asian American Study, suicide is a growing concern particularly among second-generation
immigrants. Half of all second-generation immigrants are racial/ethnic minorities, namely Latinos and Asians.
Asians are the only racial/ethnic group for which suicide is the leading cause of death among early adults age
18-24. Among racial/ethnic minorities, suicide remains a top five leading cause of death until age 55 only in
Asians. Despite this disparity, there is a severe dearth of evidence-based research initiatives targeting suicide
through an identity-based approach in racial/ethnic minority groups. Past evidence from minority stress theory
suggests strong associations between identity-based stigma and suicide. However, minority stress theory lacks
an intersectional stigma perspective incorporating multiple minority identities. Adapting this theory to include
intersectional stigma enhances its applicability to racial/ethnic minorities, many of whom identify with multiple
stigmatized subgroups. Moreover, merging the interpersonal theory of suicide to minority stress allows scientists
to investigate the pathway of belongingness to suicide from an intersectional stigma perspective. The proposed
study signifies a pressing research opportunity to uncover new insights on understanding suicide through this
innovative theoretical framework in a subgroup of Asians. This will be implemented in a pilot study using a novel
study design integrating complex methods from multi-level national, community, and individual data. The study
purpose is to better understand belongingness as it relates to suicide from the complex perspective of
intersectional stigma, particularly in early adult Asians who identify with multiple stigmatized subgroups (ethnicity,
immigrant, faith), through the following aims: Aim 1: To test the potential mediating effect of belongingness to
intersectional stigma and suicide-related outcomes (stress, depression, suicidal ideation) in a national sample of
Asians with multiple stigmatized identities; Aim 2: Identify identity-specific (ethnicity, immigrant, faith) risk and
resilience factors of suicidality in an Asian community; Aim 3: Explore the meaning of belongingness from the
lived experience of intersectional stigma through in-depth interviews with Asian individuals. The fellowship
research objective is to conduct a hypothesis-generating pilot study on the risk and resilience factors of suicide
using a novel approach that is especially relevant to racial minorities. The fellowship training goals are to: (1)
gain proficiency in advanced methodological skills for mental health ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10449971
- **Project number:** 5F31MD015212-02
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** amelia noor-oshiro
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $46,753
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-05-06 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10449971

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10449971, Intersectional Stigma, Belongingness, and Suicide: A Novel Approach for Minority Mental Health. (5F31MD015212-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10449971. Licensed CC0.

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