Affirmative Body Positivity and Positive Intimacy as a Buffer of Suicide Ideation Associated With Gendered Racism Among Asian American Men

Introduction Gendered racism, which emasculates and denigrates the masculinity self‐concept and the desirability of Asian American men, has been associated with greater endorsement of suicide ideation. However, no research has examined culturally informed gendered racial factors that could moderate the risk of suicide ideation associated with gendered racism. Based on the potential of affirming gendered racial experiences that can validate and empower Asian American men to resist internalizing the harms of gendered racism, we examined whether affirmative body positive and positive intimacy experiences could moderate the link between gendered racism and suicide ideation. Methods We conducted latent moderated structural equation modeling to analyze online convenience data from 876 Asian American men ( M age = 30.78; SD = 9.43). Results Gendered racism was significantly associated with suicide ideation. Affirmative body positive experience was a buffer at low to mean levels of gendered racism but was an exacerbator at mean to high levels of gendered racism. Affirmative positive intimacy experiences were a buffer at low and mean levels of gendered racism but not at high levels of gendered racism. Conclusion Implications include translating these findings into a more nuanced affirmative support system and gendered racial socialization strategies to help Asian American men engage in healthier and flourishing outcomes.