Youth Suicide - Did You Know?
- Suicide is the THIRD leading cause of death for ages 15-24 and the FOURTH leading cause of death for children ages 10-145.
- Among college students, suicide is the SECOND leading cause of death6.
- The U.S. Department of Health reports in the year 2000, over one million youth attempted suicide. That's over 2,700 attempts each day in our nation by young people ages 12-177.
- Each week in our nation we lose over 100 young people to suicide.
- More teenagers and young adults have died from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, influenza, pneumonia and chronic lung disease COMBINED.
- In the past forty years, youth suicide rates have almost tripled. Between 1980 and 1996, suicide rates for ages 10-14 increased by over 100%8. Although the suicide rates have declined over the last three or four years, it remains at an unacceptable level.
- Even though white males make up the majority of completed suicides, from 1980 to 1995, suicide among black youth ages 10-14 increased 233%, and in black youth ages 15-19 suicide rates increased 126%. For black youth in the Southern U.S., there was an increase of 214%.
