Meaning in Life Profiles Among Black Adults in the U.S.: Examining Associations with Suicidal Ideation, Planning, and Attempts Among a Probability-Based Sample of Black Americans

INTRODUCTION: While entire anthologies of social science research implement deficit-focused framings of Black life, few studies explore how positive psychological factors like having a sense of meaning or purpose in life may protect against adverse outcomes for this population. Notably suicides have increased among Black American youth and adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, though rates decreased for other race groups within this period. Still, empirical studies that identify positive psychological mechanisms that mitigate suicide risk among this population remain scant. Despite its benefits, the study of positive psychology among Black Americans is largely nascent within both suicidology and social work research. This investigation serves as a direct attempt to redress these gaps by exploring how constructs of meaning in life and life purpose form in the lives of Black adults.

METHODS: Data were collected from the AmeriSpeak panel at the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago. This probability-based sample of (n = 985) Black adults completed online surveys in 2022. Latent profile analysis (LPA) techniques were used to measure underlying patterns in the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (Steger et al, 2006). AIC, BIC, aBIC, and entropy values were evaluated to determine model fit. Multinomial logistic regression tests were performed to identify which suicide risk factors predict latent profile membership.

RESULTS: Four profiles emerged: (1) Without direction = 8.5%; (2) Moderate purpose and searching = 14%; (3) Purposeful and fulfilled = 42.5%; and (4) Purposeful yet still searching = 35%. Seriously considering suicide within the past year was associated with lower odds of being in the Moderate purposeful and searching group (OR = 0.12), while having made a suicide attempt in the past year was associated with a 93.5% decrease in the odds of membership in the Purposeful and fulfilled profile (OR = 0.065).

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Suicide prevention interventions geared towards Black Americans should explore how and when meaning in life is conceptualized within this community while also integrating culturally-salient messages that directly promote feelings of life purpose across the life course. Additional efforts are also needed to explore the specific factors that can be leveraged to extend messages of meaning and purpose that are tailored for each age group and aligns with their experiences as Black adults prepare to transition throughout different life course stages (e.g., transitioning to college, retirement, etc).