Discomfort with asking the police for help: Patterns among 8th grade youth across sexual, gender, and racial identities and history of suicidality.

Youth experiencing a suicidal crisis may interface with public services like police. The current analysis examined how intersecting social identities (gender, sexual, and racial/ethnic identities) and history of suicidality were associated with discomfort asking the police for help, using a decision tree approach. The sample included 8th grade students (N=36,513) who participated in the 2022 Minnesota Student Survey. 32.4% of students reported discomfort with asking the police for help. Youth with multiple marginalized identities who have experienced suicidal ideation and suicide attempt had the greatest discomfort with asking the police for help. Non-police models for crisis response teams are indicated.