Examining stressful life experiences as risk factors for self-injurious behaviors as a function of sexual minority status in adults.

Self-injurious behaviors (SIBs) represent a major public health concern in the United States. Although sexual minority individuals experience disproportionately high rates of SIBs, research identifying population-specific risk factors remains limited. This study examined how stressful experiences common among sexual minority (SM) adults relate to the likelihood of SIBs in SM versus heterosexual adults. A community sample of adults aged 18-54 years (Mage = 30.52 years, SD = 9.66, 59.8% assigned female at birth) completed self-report and interview measures of trait-level SIB risk factors (emotional reactivity, disinhibition), stressful life experiences (childhood trauma, discrimination), and lifetime history of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicide attempts. One third of participants (33.3%) reported SM attraction, 48.2% identified as a racial/ethnic minority, and 42.3% earned a high school diploma or less. A substantial minority reported a history of NSSI (24.1%) and/or a suicide attempt (12.4%). SM versus heterosexual attraction was associated with both NSSI, r = .36, p < .001, and suicide attempts, r = .25, p < .001, at the bivariate level. SM attraction moderated the link between discrimination and the odds of a suicide attempt, OR = 4.10, p = .030, such that discrimination was positively associated with the odds of a suicide attempt among SM, p = .008, but not heterosexual participants, p = .643. These findings highlight that everyday discrimination exerts a disproportionate impact on the risk of suicide attempts among SM adults, emphasizing the importance of interventions that confront discrimination and minority stressors to mitigate these disparities.