Publications - Suicide

The Pandemic Has Researchers Worried About Teen Suicide, by Anya Kamenetz, NPR, Sep 10 2020.

“Teen and youth anxiety and depression are getting worse since COVID lockdowns began in March, early studies suggest, and many experts say they fear a corresponding increase in youth suicide. At the end of June, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveyed Americans on their mental health. They found symptoms of anxiety and depression were up sharply across the board between March and June, compared with the same time the previous year. And young people seemed to be the hardest-hit of any group. Almost 11 percent of all respondents to that survey said they had "seriously considered" suicide in the past 30 days. For those ages 18 to 24, the number was 1 in 4 — more than twice as high. ”

World Suicide Prevention Day: Here's how to help, by Sandee LaMotte, CNN Health, Sep 10 2020.

“Every 40 seconds, someone in the world takes their own life. That's at least 800,000 people a year, according to the World Health Organization, and the numbers are rising in some parts of the world. In the United States alone, suicide rates have increased by 35% between 1999 and 2018. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls suicide a "growing public health problem." ”

The Crisis in Youth Suicide, by Jane E. Brody, New York Times, Dec 2 2019.

“Too often, suicide attempts and deaths by suicide, especially among the young, become family secrets that are not investigated and dealt with in ways that might protect others from a similar fate. ”

Can Three Numbers Stem the Tide of American Suicides?, by Greg Miller, The Atlantic, Sep 23 2019.

“Suicide hotlines are based on the simple idea that a conversation with a sympathetic stranger can save a life. Historically, most suicide hotlines have been run by volunteers without advanced degrees in counseling or related fields, and there’s research to suggest that nonexperts are at least as effective, if not more so, than professionals at helping suicidal callers. [...]   “The hurdle we’ve always had is getting people to know how to find us,” says Dwight Holton, the CEO of Lines for Life, a Lifeline call center based in Portland, Oregon.That might soon change. The Federal Communications Commission recently recommended making it easier to reach the Lifeline, by dialing 988 instead of the more cumbersome current 10-digit number. The thinking is that someone in the midst of a crisis is more likely to remember—and dial—a shorter number. ”

Living near a gun shop or in a rural area puts you at higher risk for suicide, study says, by Jen Christensen, CNN, Sep 6 2019.

“The suicide rate rose 41% in the United States from 1999 to 2016, and the people at the highest risk have a few factors in common, according to a study published in the journal JAMA Network Open on Friday.  Men had higher suicide rates. Areas with the highest risk were in Western states, and in rural areas. Or, in a city, if there was a gun shop in the neighborhood. ”

HRC Observes National Suicide Prevention Awarness Month 2019, by HRC Staff, Human Rights Campaign, Sep 1 2019.

“This September, HRC observes National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, reaffirming our commitment to supporting the well-being of LGBTQ youth who often feel alone or hopeless simply because of who they are.  ”

The US suicide rate is up 33% since 1999, research says, by Jacqueline Howard, CNN, Jun 20 2019.

“The suicide rate in the United States continues to climb, with a rate in 2017 that was 33% higher than in 1999, new research finds. The report noted that America's suicide rates are at the highest level since World War II. Those who identify as American Indian or Alaska Natives had the highest increase among all race and ethnicity groups, according to the research. ”

Mental Health Screening Tools, by Theresa Nguyen, Mental Health America, May 2019.

“Taking a mental health screening is one of the quickest and easiest ways to determine whether you are experiencing symptoms of a mental health condition. Mental health conditions, such as depression or anxiety, are real, common and treatable. And recovery is possible. ”

Suicidal thoughts, attempts sending more U.S. kids to emergency rooms, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Apr 10 2019.

“The number of kids and teens visiting U.S. emergency rooms after considering or attempting suicide has almost doubled in recent years, according to a new study, suggesting these young patients may not be getting the mental health care they need. ”

Showing compassion, accepting cultures: Preventing suicide in the Latino community, by Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez, CNN, Mar 26 2019.

“Latina teens in the United States have had higher rates of suicide attempts than Caucasian teens and Latino boys for the past 20 years, according to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey  ”

VA Struggles To Unlock The Reasons Behind High Suicide Rates Among Older Veterans, by Steve Walsh, NPR, Mar 11 2019.

“The VA National Suicide Data Report for 2005 to 2016, which came out in September 2018, highlights an alarming rise in suicides among veterans age 18 to 34 — 45 per 100,000 veterans. Younger veterans have the highest rate of suicide among veterans, but those 55 and older still represent the largest number of suicides. Moreover, the suicide rate for older veterans is higher than that of non-veterans. For veterans age 55 to 74 years old, the rate of suicide is 26 per 100,000, while nationally, the suicide rate in the same age group is 17.4 per 100,000. The rate ticks up even higher for veterans over 85 years old. ”

Suicide games can spread online for months before parents know, by Lisa Rapaport , Reuters, Mar 8 2019.

“Researchers traced the path of one suicide game, the “blue whale challenge,” as awareness of it spread across social media and mainstream news outlets from 2013 to 2017. By the time the first U.S. news article about this suicide game appeared, the game had been circulating in English language social media posts for four months and in other languages for nine months, the study found. Nobody knows for sure whether this particular suicide game really existed or caused teens to harm themselves, or if it was an elaborate hoax. But as reports of these suicide games continue to go viral - including the latest one known as the “Momo challenge” - researchers say that it’s crucial for parents to know what their children and teens are exposed to in their digital lives. ”

One in four pre-teen suicides may be LGBT youth, by Lisa Rapaport , Reuters, Feb 21 2019.

“Youth 12 to 14 years old who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) are much more likely to die by suicide than their heterosexual peers, a disparity that persists but becomes less pronounced by early adulthood, a U.S. study suggests. While 24 percent of the suicide deaths in the 12 to 14 age group were among LGBT youth in 2013-2015, this dropped to 8 percent of suicides among young adults 25 to 29 years old, researchers report in the Journal of Adolescent Health. ”

Friendly texts tied to fewer suicide attempts in the military, by Lisa Rapaport , Reuters, Feb 20 2019.

“Military service members who are at risk for suicide may be less likely to attempt to harm themselves when they receive supportive text messages, a U.S. study suggests. Soldiers in the study had all received behavioral health services for considering or attempting suicide in the past, and all were on active duty, in the Reserve or in the National Guard. They all received standard treatments like medication or psychotherapy as needed; half of the 650 participants were also randomly assigned to received occasional texts with messages like “hope you’re having a good day.” Over the course of a year, people who received these texts were 44 percent less likely to experience suicidal thoughts and 48 percent less likely to attempt suicide than those who didn’t get the messages. ”

LGBT Navajos Discover Unexpected Champions: Their Grandparents, by Laurel Morales, NPR, Jan 26 2019.

“Nationwide, the share of gay, lesbian and bisexual teens who attempt suicide is high — 23 percent. For Navajo LGBTQ youth, the rate is 70 percent, according to the Navajo Nation's Diné Policy Institute. [...] It's not unusual that Navajo grandparents are accepting of being LGBT while parents are not. Historians say federally run boarding schools and other assimilation tactics taught a generation of Navajos that same-sex relationships are wrong. ”