Gendered Contexts: Variation in Suicidal Ideation by Female and Male Youth across U.S. States

Abstract

We use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (13,186 respondents in 30 states) to develop a unique state-level measure of the gendered context in order to examine the influence of gender normative attitudes and behaviors on state rates of suicidal ideation and individual-level suicidal ideation for female and male youth (ages 13 to 22). The findings demonstrate the negative consequences for youth, especially females who report feminine-typical traits, who live in contexts defined by restrictive gender norms at both the ecological and individual levels. This study points to the importance of fatalistic suicide for female youth and suggests possible mechanisms to explain this association.