Asian Americans' family cohesion and suicide ideation: moderating and mediating effects.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between family cohesion and suicide ideation in a national, adult community sample of Asian Americans (N=2072). The data for this study were drawn from the National Latino and Asian American Study, the first national epidemiological study of Asian Americans' mental health. The results indicate that family cohesion was negatively related to suicide ideation. In addition, English language proficiency moderated the relationship between family cohesion and suicide ideation. Family cohesion was related to lower odds of suicide ideation among low English proficiency Asian Americans. In contrast, family cohesion was not significantly related to suicide ideation among high English proficiency Asian Americans. Further, the findings are consistent with a model in which the relationship between family cohesion and suicide ideation was partially mediated by psychological distress. Practical implications for addressing suicide ideation among Asian Americans are discussed.