For middle and high school age youth (ages 12-18), suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death. *
For college age youth (ages 18-22), suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death. *
Overall, suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for our youth ages 10-24. *
(*2022 CDC WISQARS)
In ages 10 – 14, we have seen an alarming increase in suicides. The number of suicides for this group has more than doubled in the last decade, making it the second leading cause of death for that age group.
More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease, COMBINED.
Each day in our nation, there are an average of over 3,703 attempts by young people grades 9-12. If these percentages are additionally applied to grades 7 & 8, the numbers would be higher.
Four out of Five individuals considering suicide give some sign of their intentions, either verbally or behaviorally.
The Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System (YRBS) is a survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that includes national, state, and local school-based representative samples of 9th through 12th grade students. The purpose is to monitor priority health risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems among youth in the United States. The surveys are conducted every two years to determine the prevalence of these health risk behaviors. Behaviors that contribute to unhealthy lifestyles and those that indicate possible depression and/or suicidal ideation are included. Click here to see the full report.
