Examining the Contributions of Disability to Suicidality in the Context of Depression Symptoms and Other Sociodemographic Factors

We examined the contribution of disability status to suicidality when accounting for depression and sociodemographic risk factors in 438 American adults, 82 (18.7%) of whom identified as having disabilities. Participants with disabilities had significantly higher depression scores and were more likely to be unemployed and unpartnered, all of which were also associated with increased suicidality. However, disability remained a significant predictor of suicidality even when depression and sociodemographic risk factors were accounted for in a linear regression. Other significant predictors of suicidality in this regression were female gender, depression symptoms, and family and friend suicide history; identifying as a member of a religion was a significant protective factor against suicidality. Our findings suggest that the contribution of disability to suicidality goes beyond that which can be explained by increased depression symptoms and sociodemographic vulnerability.