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Reuters
About one in 25 U.S. teens has attempted suicide, according to a new national study, and one in eight has thought about it.
Researchers said those numbers are similar to the prevalence of lifetime suicidal thinking and attempts reported by adults - suggesting the teenage years are an especially vulnerable time.
"What adults say is, the highest risk time for first starting to think about suicide is in adolescence," said Matthew Nock, a psychologist who worked on the study at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The results are based on in-person interviews of close to 6,500 teens in the U.S. and questionnaires filled out by their parents. Along with asking youth about their suicidal thinking, plans and attempts, interviewers also determined which teens fit the bill for a range of mental disorders.
Just over 12 percent of the youth had thought about suicide, and four percent each had made a suicide plan or attempted suicide.
Nock and his colleagues found that almost all teens who thought about or attempted suicide had a mental disorder, including depression, bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or problems with drug or alcohol abuse.
More than half of the youth were already in treatment when they reported suicidal behavior. Nock said that was both "encouraging" and "disturbing."
"We know that a lot of the kids who are at risk and thinking about suicide are getting (treatment)," he told Reuters Health. However, "We don't know how to stop them - we don't have any evidence-based treatments for suicidal behavior."
Who is at risk?
Amy Brausch, a psychologist who has studied adolescent self-harm and suicide at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, said the finding shouldn't be interpreted to mean mental health treatment doesn't work for teens.
"We don't know from this study if they even told their therapist they were having these thoughts, we don't know if it was a focus of the treatment," Brausch, who wasn't involved in the new research, told Reuters Health.
The findings were published this week in JAMA Psychiatry. But they still leave many questions unanswered.
Because most youth who think about suicide never go on to make an actual plan or attempt, doctors need to get better at figuring out which ones are most at risk of putting themselves in danger, according to Nock.
Once those youth are identified, researchers will also have to determine the best way to treat them, he said - since it's clear that a lot of current methods aren't preventing suicidal behavior.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the third leading cause of death for people between age 10 and 24, killing about 4,600 young people annually.
Although girls are more likely to attempt suicide - a pattern confirmed by Nock's study - boys have higher rates of death by suicide because they typically choose more deadly methods, such as guns.
For parents, Brausch advised keeping open communication with their adolescent and not being afraid to ask about things like depression. They should also pay attention to changes in mood or behavior, she added.
Nock agreed. "For parents, if they suspect their child is thinking about suicide… or talking about death, I would have that child evaluated," he said.
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So we'd better stop unfriending teens on Facebook!
What an idiotic statistic.....more msnbs
Justoneguy is right. This is pseudo math or guesswork at it's best. No study can conclusively say exactly how many teens have attempted suicide unless they contact EVERY teen in America and ask them. Ridiculous and false statistic and very misleading.
Not pseudo at all. You take a large enough sample size and you can extrapolate it for the general population. There are proven statistical methods that have determined once you reach a certain threshold, it will be reflective of the general population. 6,500 is quite a large number. In addition, I would think the numbers would be higher; almost all my friends contemplated suicide as a teenager.
The fact that any teenagers consider suicide calls into question the network of support, sense of true community, and compassion in present day America. The comments by "See Thru Gloss" and "Car56" just further call all of this into question.
We have a problem with mental health services in this nation, but we are part of the problem. How many of you (myself included) have ignored a neighbor, family member, coworker, or even stranger who seemed to be in distress or in need of help? How many have just carried on with their own daily worries and struggles, ignorant of others? This is the problem with our supposedly "social media rich" 21st century American society and culture.
Be involved. Show care and compassion for those around you and for perfect strangers. A simple act of compassion, simply checking-in on someone else could prove the difference between their life and death if they are in distress. Or, perhaps such a simple act could help prevent another Newtown.
That's a pretty bad failure rate. No wonder our schools are failing. With that many attempts, you'd think we could do better.
It's not a surprise though. Parents don't love their children these days. They let the tv, the Kardashians & X-boxes raise them. They treat kids like furniture rather than actually loving or interacting with their kids. They don't teach them manners or how to cope with society and try to be their friend instead. How pathetic are these people who have to birth their own friends?
It's not the kids fault though....their generation of parents is the most pathetic one in history.
Making a plan for suicide and attempting suicide are the same thing now?
Proclivity to turn to drugs, legal Rx or illegal, parents and schools seeking to shield kids from achieving through hard work, while the constant drumbeat of you are not responsible - society is for what happens to you and the poor little kids are darned near zombies. Their parents, through drugs and alcohol created all these kids with ADHD, nervous disorders with the inability to thrive intellectually. Push electronic gadgets on them and let them use visual stimulation 15 hours a day and no wonder the kids are confused, incapable and feeling depressed about it. People, including kids feel good about themselves when they accomplish something through their own efforts. The societal model we have is the gubmint will do everything, the individual has no responsibilities. They have no expectations and feel worthless. That is a huge shame because they should be feeling like the future is great and all things are possible. We need to downsize gubmint and reduce gubmint programs and restore a sense of personal achievement and responsibility. Then the next generation will have a better chance. The current kids will have to turn it around for themselves or they are lost.
Ever hear of a classic old German book called The Sorrows of Werther? Yep, he's a teen who commits suicide because a girl sprurns him. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Teens have always had a high suicide rate, because they take everything so SERIOUSLY .
Why do I get the feeling my taxes are going up.
1 in 25 seems very high considering I never new anyone in their teens when I was there also that had this in mind. We thought more about how to keep up with our chores at home, school work, working at a job for extra money and the best method to seduce girls.
Dick,
That's one statement that I think we will ever agree on.
If you are still working then your taxes have already gone up 2% because Obama and Congress let the Payroll tax go up.
I knew two brothers that committed suicide in my high school years. One had just got out of jail for drug possession, and while at a party the police showed up. One brother didn't hear from the other for a couple days and thought he went back to jail and felt it was his fault. He killed himself over it. Then a couple years later the remaining brother had the guilt over his head and killed himself in the same spot of their home. Both were heavy marijuana users and ADD/ADHD medication users. Mind altering drugs need to be banned from use because their side effects include suicide, thoughts of suicide and depression.
I'm only 22, so barely past the teenage years. I went to a high school where you were EXPECTED to succeed, not just in your academic grades (more than half of each grade was on the honour roll and at least 25% were on first class honours-straight A's), but in sports, music or some other area. It was a great school, but there were a lot of us under severe stress. I'd say at least half of us were in the boat of feeling, rather frequently, like suicide.
I think, personally, that we do have a bit of a mixed up idea of things. It seems like there is no 'happy middle ground'. Kids either have no drive to succeed, or there is so much pressure that they tend to crack.
The numbers don't suprise me. I think your brain tends to be a bit scrambled in your teens.
I thought about it in my teens, in the early-mid 90's. I never told anyone, and you wouldn't have guessed it. No drug use, very little alcohol use, good grades, rarely got into any sort of trouble. Plenty of exercise and healthy food, parents and family that loved me, minimal computer/video game exposure, only 3 channels on the tv. I spent my free time reading, listening to the radio, and riding my bike to visit friends.
While I'm sure having problems in this or that area can have an affect, I think it's more that the connections in the brain get glitchy around that age and make teens more prone to depression.
"interviewers also determined which teens fit the bill for a range of mental disorders."
Sounds like another way to get more young people drugged up and zombified to me.
No, it's because they don't have the ability to really diagnose mental diseases, so they use this tacky system of behavioral "diagnoses" that tell nothing about the actual entities or about proper treatments. It should be no surprise that their "therapies" only make patients inert. with no other lasting benefit.
I think that many times the best cure could easily be Poor Richard's advice that "A healthy body makes a healthy mind" (or something to that effect). One needs to keep busy to fight depression. It is when one sits still and dwells on their problems that depression sets in.
You and Richard are right I speak from experience, I would hate to think what my life would be or if it would even be if I hadn't gotten into martial arts when I was younger. I was constantly bullied verbally and physically when I was in elementary and middle school and after much begging my parents finally allowed me to start taking Tae Kwon Do at the local rec center. After seeing how much I loved it and that it wasn't negatively impacting my grades (it actually improved them) they let me sign up full time. The confidence and mental discipline I learned helped me block out the verbal bullying and after standing my ground during a few physical encounters those stopped altogether. After they saw that I wasn't going to be their victim the problem went away, the worst I ever got after that was being called "Karate Kid" and "Wannabe Power Ranger".
"Nock and his colleagues found that almost all teens who thought about or attempted suicide had a mental disorder, including depression, bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or problems with drug or alcohol abuse."
FYI, there's a difference between mental disorders and behavioral disorders. It's very irresponsible to generalize these diseases as mental disorders.
Behavior is ultimately inextricably linked to the mind (mental). Trying to separate out physical behavior from mental behavior is thorny at best. I see no massive issue here. The better term might be "mental health disorder" though.
There's really not a difference and they aren't being irresponsible to use those terms.
Time for more teen suicide control laws!
Teen suicide control LAWS?? What are You smoking??
I believe Johnathan was being sarcastic...
When I read the title of this article, I nearly fell out of my chair. One in every twenty-five teens have actually attempted suicide seems way to high. Wish this article would have given some historical perspective to the stats. Wonder what the ratio was in the 1950s or 1990s compared to today.
Yes, out of context....we really don't know if things are getting better or worse....
But then that would involve some investigation on the part of the reporter....
I have never found much concrete evidence before the '80s in regards to suicide rates but teen suicide rates have been relatively stable at 10-12 per 100,000 with some fluctuation over the past 30 years. I don't know about attempted suicide rates but I'd be willing to guess it is probably stable too. It's about 4-5 male suicides deaths per 1 female suicide which is also relatively consistent for different ages which is what I find most shocking about the general suicide subject.
I would say males are higher because of the stigmas attached to being homosexual. I'd be interested in knowing just what percent of male suicides are due to facing discrimination with their sexual orientation.
@ FWIW - 4141964. Women have a tendency to make more suicide attempts on average but men tend to have higher fatality rates. This can be explained by the attempt method of choice. Women tend to prefer less violent methods (e.g. overdose), whereas men often select violent techniques (e.g. self-inflicted gun-shot wound).
Lets see the statistics on those that are on anti-depressants that actually commit suicide. Clue, you won't find the data because it is not tracked. To many given anti-depressants instead of just talking and getting involved with others which means keeping actively busy. Look at the statistics to on how many teenagers get little to no exercise and sit constantly playing video games while communicating by texting. There is not enough one on one interactions with other human beings face to face.
I don't disagree with anything you've posted but the last time I checked teen suicide rates have been the most consistent rate of all age groups over the last few decades second to the preteen suicide rate. I have not been able to find a conclusive analysis of suicide rates based on persons using anti-depression drugs or mental health treatment, all I ever read is that it's higher for people currently in treatment.
Yes...and no. Teenagers certainly need more CBT and not just meds. However, mental healthcare is prohibitively expensive. Lifetime limits of mental health are set at $10,000, whereas other medical needs are 1-2 MILLION. A decent outpatient program will easily cost you ten grand. I also agree with keeping actively involved but you have to remember that we strip so much money from education that extracurriculars that aren't football/basketball get cut so there aren't the places and spaces for outlets to create human connections or do things with others that we had even in the late 90s when I was in school.
@ Mom in Illinois. You raise solid points. Numerous studies have demonstrated links between community involvement (in the real world, not online), life well-being, happiness, and even health. Clearly our adolescents who isolate from the real world and tangible social relations have some sort of greater risk for mental health problems. Of course, it could be that those who have such problems chose to socially isolate.
And, what always concerns me with anti-depressants is that those of us in the psychology profession (and medical beyond that) do not have a sense of how these actually work. Furthermore, studies have demonstrated that many therapy types are equally effective at treating depression as medication (e.g. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). Furthermore, such therapies often produce effects that are long lasting for the person undergoing the treatment, whereas the rebound of a mental illness like depression is common after medication is ceased.
Unfortunately even those who have insurance often are severely limited in how many annual visits they can make with a counselor or psychologist. If a person can only work with a counselor or psychologist for 4, 6, or even 8 visits out of the year, odds are the therapy won't last long enough to have full effect. Better to drug them up than to teach the suffering person skills and a mind-set to truly change his/her life.
What activity or action constitutes a suicide attempt? Does swallowing three, eight, half a bottle of Tylenol count? I have never been able to find what is classified as an attempt. I don't find it too hard to believe that 1 in 8 has thought about suicide because I'm sure there are plenty of people that have thought about robbing a bank or killing their boss.
Ridiculous!
At the rate stated in the story 4000 out of every 100000 teens attempt to do themselves in and only around 10 out of that 4000 succeed.
They either are not trying very hard or they are pretty inept or perhaps they are damned liars.
Yet another cold and insensitive comment reflective of how sorry contemporary America has become when it comes to basic community.
One possibility explaining the low "success" rate (and why anyone would want such a rate to be higher is beyond me) is that many adolescents attempt suicide through drug overdose. Often victims of self-attempted overdoses are discovered before such can be fatal - or - their body's natural defense against such kicks in and miraculously lets them survive.
"four percent each had made a suicide plan or attempted suicide"
Is this saying that the planners and attempters combined for a total of four percent, or that each group totalled four percent respectively?
Either way, I don't believe that 1 in 25 has attempted suicide.
Really? I believe it is actually much higher. Do you work with teenagers? I'm a secondary ed teacher and the talk and attitudes of it are much higher than you'd think.
No, grammatically it would mean that 4% made a plan and 4% attempted. But from a logical point of view did the 4% who attempted NOT make a plan or is there overlap in the planners and attempters?
@FWIW
For only being 24, I've worked extensively with teenagers. I've worked in five summers of camp(four in the US and one in Finland as an English Teacher), a juvennile detention center (volunteer), school clubs, with kids in England, and as an English teacher in the US, India, and where I'm currently at in the Czech Republic. Much of my time working with kids in the States was spent with youth from a low-income urban environment. For most of my life, I grew up in a semi-rough (not the projects, but not a ritzy suburb either) neigborhood in Michigan. I've worked in both secular and Christian ministry environments. At 24, I'm not too awfully removed from being a teenager myself, and yes, I still doubt the statistic.
That being said, I know that many teens are struggling, and I'm sorry to hear of your experience with numerous hurting teens. I hope 2013 grings you great success in making a positive impact!
Could it be that they have seen the future the Democrooks are planning? ;-)
Over-federalization of American has ruined the experiment. This tragedy is the result of government interference in homes and family. The fed.gov destroys everything it touches...
Ban teen suicide now! Make a bunch of new laws against it. That will solve everything!
Remember kids, if you're going to slit your wrists, it's "down the road" not "across the street".
How many of those 1 in 25 were on prescription medications for depression, ADD/ADHD, Bi-polar, and other mind altering drugs? How many of the shooters of mass murders were on these drugs in the last 20 years?
I don't have any facts on that, but I would say probably 100 % were on drugs of some sort.
You must be really old John, and I am not trying to be insulting, but I remember quite a few kids when I was growing up who tried to commit suicide and were not on anything but they were put on medication afterwards in the hopes of preventing them from trying again. You should learn more about what you are talking about.
So Dawgfan-4710266 you are trying to tell us that when Crazy People are put on medication it is the medication that makes them Crazy? That sounds perfectly illogical to me I think you should probably do a little reading other than your daily dose of Alex Jones before spouting nonsense.
Peter,
For many of them it's the not taking their meds that leads to withdrawls that leads to violence. Other's it's the medication that makes them have suicidal thoughts and makes them even more crazy.
Sore subject for peter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nobody wants to take a serious look at that but the widespread use of psychotropic drugs and the widespread occurrence of rampage murder/suicides exactly mirrors each other, more than coincidence I think.
I believe that reality is much higher than 1/25. Alcohol, drugs, violence, suicide and homicide go hand in hand.
Why would anyone want to commit suicide in this wonderful land of kind and loving people, judging by the comments posted here on MSNBC.
A couple of steps.better parenting.And sterilization of those who have serious mental illness
Wow!
Sterilize those with serious mental illness! What a brilliant solution!
I am astounded by the sometimes callous and thoughtless comments people have made about such a tragic topic. People questioning these statistics (which for all I know may or may not be accurate) should consider learning about research design before they start naysaying a study, and I don't know what MSNBC's reporting on this study has to do with its validity. As for the argument that this study is wrong because somebody didn't know of any suicides when they were a teen...now THAT'S precious. Suicide is, after all, a taboo topic; it's not like people run around screaming, "I'm thinking of killing myself!!!"
I have bipolar II, and until I got treated, I thought of suicide far more times than any human being should have to. My thoughts of suicide started at 13; there was no one there to help me. Imagine being so young and alone and thinking about suicide. Not pretty. And, no, it wasn't the "gubmint" or my lack of activity that "caused" me to think about suicide. I grew up in the Reagan era, and, if anything, I was TOO busy. National Merit Scholar, PhD in English. I didn't need to be busier or taught to take responsibility--no, I had to get treatment, at which point, like a recovering alcoholic, I was able to start on the long road to recovery.
You sound like me, my problems started with self-harming at age 7. Yep, age 7. And my mom thought it was funny that I was hammering myself to the point of bruising with a toy wooden hammer.
When I finally let myself be hospitalized at age 17, they were amazed to find that they had a teenager who had an average over 90% taking calculus, chemistry, advanced placement (university level) english, and part of orchestra, honour bands, national bands etc. For me, diving into things like that was my 'self-medication' in that it helped hide things but it certainly didn't make them go away...
Wow! Sterilize those with serious mental illness! What a brilliant idea!
I am shocked by the callous and thoughtless comments that some people have made in response to this study. I mean, a "crazy" person? What scientific terminology! For those who question the study's validity, I would imagine that you'd have to look at the study and learn about research design before you could make that assessment. And the idea that the study's validity can be called into question because MSNBC reported on it? That one really eludes me.
I have bipolar ii, and before I got treated, my thoughts of suicide were relentless and aggressive. I first got the idea of slashing my wrists when I was 13. Imagine being that young and alone, and with no recourse. And, no, I can't say the "gubmint" or my lack of activity or my irresponsibility were to blame. I grew up in the Reagan era, and I was quite busy, maybe TOO busy. I was a National Merit Scholar and got a PhD in English. The fact is, I had a serious mental illness that was not treated for 17 years...due to stigma. I mean, who wants to think they're "crazy" or to be proclaimed as such by others? Thankfully I am actively engaged in my treatment plan, and I have taken responsibility for my recovery, which has entailed a lot of hard work. My hope is that some people will take this study seriously because we owe that to our children.
In a way I can see it, standards are higher, more and more forced activities and work. Not to say all the laws that keep getting added to the law books. I hardly ever see kids playing outside anymore because they will get in trouble just playing and socializing. Most kids have a lot on there plate and the plate keeps filling. I have a teenager and her schedule is very full and I sometimes feel bad for her because at times she just needs to be a kid. The full plate should come later in life.
Hailey, your daughter and others like her are one of the reasons that I hesitate to have children. Children can and do succeed without having such an overly full plate filled with structured activities. Competitive parenting frightens me (and this, in my opinion is the root cause of the overscheduling of our youth, not the schools and universities) , but if I decide to have children, I plan on raising them as I was raised and as my brother is raising his children i.e., with balance. As to the topic of discussion, I struggled with depression when I was a teenager. I had great parents, I earned good grades, I was able to form solid friendships, I was involved in several activities, but I still had dark thoughts that sometimes included thoughts of ending my life. My mother made sure I had counseling with a wonderful woman who gave me tools to cope that I still use today whenever I feel depression coming over me. I wasn't medicated as the medical community was a bit more hesitant to prescribe medications at the time, but I am sure that if counseling had not worked, I would have been prescribed medication. I know that I wasn't the only one in my peer group at school who suffered from depression. Some are now on medications and some, sadly, killed themselves later in life (including my minister's son whom we all tried to help, but couldn't save from a slow death caused by self-neglect). There is nothing new under the sun.
pchefpittsburgh,
It is not over parenting on our part. The big part is "no child left behind" that I find disgusting. It seems when things get standardized for all kids it seems to hold them back and add pressure. It can't be my wife and stopping all the kids in the neighborhood from playing outside in fact we promote it. We do things together since we live in the heart of the Rockies, we camp, fish, go ATVing play sports, ski and read together. We do not sit around watching TV and play video games day after day. But I see a lot of families doing nothing and Parents passing there kids off. We enjoy her friends and include them in our activities so she can be social. The main thing is if she wants time away from us to be with friends, we give to her. Her grades are great, we talk about everything and she is a intelligent, thoughtful, confident and well rounded kid.
Hailey, you and your wife sound like great parents; your daughter will forever treasure her memories of her childhood. A great childhood, room to grow as a person and a well-rounded education, including experiences that go way beyond the formal classroom, are the greatest gifts a parent can give a child. I was leaving school just as standardized state, rather than federal, school testing was beginning (Ours was the first class that had to pass a state test in order to receive a diploma rather than an certificate of attendance. That being said, state testing is nothing new as my grandfather had to take the New York State Regent's Examination back in the nineteen thirties in order to receive his diploma.) We were also one of the last classes to be "tracked." Kids who needed more help learning the material were in certain classes, middle-of-the-road kids were in others and the brighter ones who were most likely to go to university were in another. Still others went to the local vocational school or did work-mentoring programs. In some ways, it's a shame that this is no longer done. School was a bit more individualized. As both of my parents and many of my friends are educators, I understand the frustrations with No Child Left Behind and can also understand why so many are now choosing to either homeschool or send their children to private schools. I agree with you about the pressure that too much testing put on children. The daughter of my best friend from high school did well in school until the testing began in earnest. She's bright, but she's also a perfectionist who stresses out over not doing well on a test. Despite a good teacher whom she liked,tutoring and many hours spent with her mother and father who were trying to help her with her schoolwork, she began to slip behind. She's doing better, but still...About children playing: In my neighborhood, I do see and hear see children out playing fairly frequently unlike our last neighborhood where I rarely, if ever, saw a child outside playing despite the fact that every house with children had a wooden playset or a trampoline in the backyard. Sometimes I wonder if social and economic factors play into this as back in my small Applalachian hometown (median household income :$36,000) kids are nearly always outside at play. When I lived in the city before I married, children were on the sidewalks, in their small yards and in the parks playing. When I moved to the suburbs to a fairly affluent neighborhood I rarely saw children outside playing. My husband and I now live in the same school district less than a mile from our old home in a slightly less affluent neighborhood and there are children outside every fine day playing. That's a comfort as I think of having children.