What do you know, or think you know, about the devastating problem of youth suicide? Are you aware that:

  • Each year, between 4,000 and 5,000 young people ages ten to twenty-four commit suicide. (AFSP)
  • In 2000, 1,921 young people ages ten to nineteen killed themselves in the U.S. That was 15 percent of all U.S. suicides.
  • In 2004, youth suicide was the third leading cause of death among young people ages ten to twenty-four. (CDC)
  • Between 1952 and 1995 the rate of suicides among young people nearly tripled. After a decrease in the 1990s, the rate is climbing again.
  • In 1999, more young people died from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, and lung disease combined.
  • In 2005, 16.9 percent of high school students seriously considered suicide; 8.4 percent actually tried.
  • Hanging is the most common method of committing suicide among ten to fourteen year olds; guns are the most common methods for young people ages fifteen to twenty four.
  • Among youth, males commit suicide almost five times more often than females, but females make more attempts.
  • The vast majority of young people who commit suicide tell someone or give suicide warning signs.
  • The vast majority of young people who commit suicide suffered from mental illness, most often depression.


Sources
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Mental Health America
National Alliance on Mental Illness