A story from Russia this week reports that there were eight teen suicides within a week there. This got me thinking about the statistics of youth suicide and the difficulty in determining just how widespread the problem really is. This is very important if we are to respond effectively. Statistics on teen suicide are controversial and hard to pin down exactly, the "latest" numbers from various sources tend to be somewhat old.
The Center For Disease Control website only has stats up to 2007. Overall, they report that "Among high school students in the United States, females were more likely to report having considered, planned, and attempted suicide compared to males (considered suicide: 18.7% versus 10.3%, planned suicide: 13.4% versus 9.2%, and attempted suicide: 9.3% versus 4.6%, respectively) in 2007." These numbers are consistent with some other sources, but the number girls versus boys is the opposite of commonly held belief. This may be attributable to the method of reporting, as the numbers include "all those who have considered, planned, and attempted" suicide, not those who actually were successful in their attempt.
The Canadian Mental Health Association website shows that in "Canada, suicide accounts for 24 percent of all deaths among 15-24 year olds and 16 percent among 16-44 year olds. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Canadians between the ages of 10 and 24." Unfortunately, although their site seems up-to-date, a quick check at the bottom of the page shows this page was "Last updated in 2006". Disappointing.
One revelation (for me at least) was the CMHA's statement that "despite a commonly held myth that the Christmas season has the highest suicide rate of all the seasons, studies have proven that across North America, suicide rates are actually lower at that time of year." They do go on to say that depression rates are higher during the holidays, but suicides peak in July or August most years. This statement refers to all suicides, though.
The Canadian Children's Rights Council site reports that in "Canada, suicide is the second highest cause of death for youth aged 10-24. Each year, on average, 294 youths die from suicide." They also list some stats from other countries - "In the US, suicide rates among youths aged 15-24 have tripled in the past half-century, even as rates for adults and the elderly have declined. And for every youth suicide completion, there are nearly 400 suicide attempts."
And...
The Canadian Children's Rights Council site reports that in "Canada, suicide is the second highest cause of death for youth aged 10-24. Each year, on average, 294 youths die from suicide." They also list some stats from other countries - "In the US, suicide rates among youths aged 15-24 have tripled in the past half-century, even as rates for adults and the elderly have declined. And for every youth suicide completion, there are nearly 400 suicide attempts."
And...
"In the UK, suicides accounted for 13 per cent of the 27,100 inquest verdicts in England and Wales last year, with 2,511 men killing themselves compared with 744 women."
Unfortunately, no date is listed for these statistics, but further links on the page are dated as "2002". Again, not very recent, and that's disappointing.
