Adolescent and Teen Suicide: By the Numbers

The alarming rise of teen and adolescent suicide rates over the last decade is prompting researchers and mental health professionals to search for causes and devise new methods and programs for preventing and treating younger suicidal patients, despite existing barriers.

Over 10-year span (2007 to 2017)

2007 6.8 suicide deaths per 100,000 people aged 10 to 24
2017 10.6 suicide deaths per 100,000 people aged 10 to 24
(56% increase over 10-year span)
People ages 15-19: 76% increase
People ages 10-14: 16% increase

Curtin, S. C., & Heron, M. (2019). Death rates due to suicide and homicide among persons aged 10–24: United States, 2000–2017. NCHS Data Brief, no 352. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.

2018 6,211 suicides nationwide, aged 15-24 – 14.5 deaths per 100,000 people
Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds (Motor vehicle accident deaths is first)

Drapeau, C. W., & McIntosh, J. L. (for the American Association of Suicidology). (2020). U.S.A. suicide: 2018 Official final data. Washington, DC: American Association of Suicidology, dated February 12, 2020, downloaded from http://www.suicidology.org.

On training and education

# of states with policies mandating and encouraging suicide prevention education for healthcare professionals 2
# of states with a policy mandating suicide prevention education 8
# of states with a policy encouraging suicide prevention education 5
# of states with a policy mandating or encouraging training for the treatment for suicidal patients 0

Graves, J. M., Mackelprang, J. L., Van Natta, S. E., & Holiday, C. (2018). Suicide prevention training: Policies for health care professionals across the United States as of October 2017. American Journal of Public Health, 108(6), 760–768.”

References

  • 1. Curtin, S. C., & Heron, M. (2019). Death rates due to suicide and homicide among persons aged 10–24: United States, 2000–2017. NCHS Data Brief, no 352. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.
  • 2. Miron, R., Yu, K-H., Wilf-Miron, R., & Kohane, I. S. (2019). Suicide Rates Among Adolescents and Young Adults in the United States, 2000-2017. JAMA, 321, 2362-2364.
  • 3. Twenge, J. M. (2017). Have smartphones destroyed a generation? The Atlantic, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/.
  • 4. Twenge, J. M., Cooper, A. B., Joiner, T. E., Duffy, M. E., & Binau, S. G. (2019). Age, period, and cohort trends in mood disorder indicators and suicide-related outcomes in a nationally representative dataset, 2005-2017. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 128, 185-199.
  • 5. Jobes, D. A., & Joiner, T. E. (2019). Reflections on suicidal ideation. Crisis, 40, 227-230.
  • 6. Research Prioritization Task Force. (2014). A prioritized research agenda for suicide prevention: An action plan to save lives. National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention.
  • http://actionallianceforsuicideprevention.org/sites/actionallianceforsuicideprevention.org/files/Agenda.pdf
  • 7. Seltine, R. H., James, A., Schilling, E. A., & Glanovsky, J. (2007). Evaluating the SOS suicide prevention program: a replication and extension. BMC Public Health, 7, 161.
  • 8. Wilcox, H. C., Kellam, S. G., Brown, C. H., Poduska, J. M., Ialongo, N. S., Wang, W., & Anthony. J. C. (2008). The impact of two universal randomized first- and second-grade classroom interventions on young adult suicide ideation and attempts. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 95 (s1), s60-s73.
  • 9. Stanley, B. Brown, G., Brent, D. et al. (2009). Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Suicide Prevention (CBT-SP): Treatment model, feasibility, and acceptability. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 48, 1005-1013.
  • 10. McCauley, E., Berk, M. S., & Asarnow, J. R. (2018). Efficacy of Dialectical Behavior Therapy for adolescents at high risk for suicide. JAMA Psychiatry, 75, 777-785.
  • 11. Stanley, B., & Brown, G. K. (2012). Safety Planning Intervention: A brief intervention to mitigate suicide risk. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 19, 256-264.
  • 12. Bryan, C. J., Mintz, J., Clemans, T. A., Burch, T. S., Leeson, B., Williams, S., & Rudd, M. D. (2017). Effect of Crisis Response Planning on patient mood and clinician decision making: A clinical trial with suicidal U.S. soldiers. Psychiatric Services, 69, 108-111.
  • 13. Brausch, A. M., O’Connor, S. S., Powers, J. T., McClay, M. M., Gregory, J. A., & Jobes, D. A. (2019, early on-line). Validating the Suicide Status Form for the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality in a clinical adolescent sample. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. DOI: 10.1111/sltb.12587
  • 14. O’Connor, S. S., Brausch, A. M., Ridge Anderson, A., & Jobes, D. (2014). Applying the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) to suicidal adolescents. The International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy, 9, 53-58.
  • 15. Jobes, D. A., Vergara, G. A., Lanzillo, E. C., & Ridge-Anderson, A. (2019). The potential use of CAMS for suicidal youth: Building on epidemiology and clinical interventions. Children’s Health Care, 48, 444-468.
  • 16. Jobes, D. A. (2015). Managing suicidal risk: A collaborative approach (2nd edition). New York: Guilford.

About Amy Brausch Ph.D.

Amy Brausch Ph.D.
Dr. Amy Brausch is an Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences at Western Kentucky University where she founded the Risk Behaviors and Suicide Prevention Laboratory in 2011. She completed her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Northern Illinois University in 2008, following her clinical internship at Utah State University Counseling and Psychological Services Center. Dr. Brausch’s research program broadly focuses on youth suicide risk assessment, prevention, and treatment. Specifically, her work has also focused on the overlap between nonsuicidal self-injury and suicide risk, the overlap between body image, disordered eating, and self-harm, and the role of emotion dysregulation in NSSI and suicide risk. Her work has been funded by the Kentucky Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network and the National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Brausch has collaborated with Dr. Jobes on research related to CAMS-4Teens, including a validation study of the Suicide Status Form for adolescents. As a Senior Consultant with CAMS-care, LLC, Dr. Brausch has provided training in CAMS to mental health providers in the United States and Australia at community mental health centers, university counseling centers, school districts, and local and state mental health suicide prevention organizations.