- State laws banning instruction on race and racism (CRT bans) in higher education associated with higher odds of past-year suicidality (adjusted odds ratio 1.06).
- The association varied by student race and by college type, with Minority Serving Institution status independently moderating suicidality risk.
- Systems-level policies are modifiable risk and protective factors; addressing them could inform multi-level suicide prevention strategies on campuses.
J Am Coll Health. 2026 Oct 21:1-10. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2026.2750840. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: We examined the state-level association between legislation prohibiting the instruction of race and racism [i.e., Critical Race Theory (CRT) bans] in higher education and past-year suicidality.
METHOD: Participants (N = 95,561;72% female; 61% non-Hispanic white) were college students from the 2023-2024 wave of the Healthy Minds Study. Two-way fixed effects logistic regression models were estimated adjusting for student and college characteristics.
RESULTS: Students in states that passed CRT bans, compared to students in states that did not, had significantly higher odds of past-year suicidality even after accounting for student and college characteristics (aOR = 1.057; 95%CI = 1.016, 1.100, p < .05). Both student race and college status (i.e., Minority Serving Institution) independently moderated this relationship.
CONCLUSION: Identifying systems-level risk and protective factors associated with suicidality may offer new opportunities for multi-level suicide prevention strategies to promote well-being among college students.
PMID:42904543 | DOI:10.1080/07448481.2026.2750840
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