Psychological distress, coping styles, and suicidal ideation in sexual minority college students

Research suggests that sexual minority (SM) students experience psychological distress and suicidal ideation at higher rates than their heterosexual peers. The current study examines the psychological distress-suicidal ideation relation in SM college students and moderating coping strategies. The sample included 138 SM college students (Mage = 23.49, SDage = 5.42). Data were analyzed using SPSS. Findings indicated that psychological distress predicted suicidality and substance abuse coping weakened this association. Additional research is needed to explore the experiences of these vulnerable and often marginalized students to identify additional moderators.