The Shocking Statistics:

• Each day more than 1,000 American teenagers attempt suicide, and 18 of them die.

• 95% of all youth suicide is preventable.

• Suicide is the number two killer of young people between the ages of 15 and 24.  Accidents are number one and researchers think that many of these accidental deaths were really suicides that looked liked accidents. *

• More 15-24 year olds die from suicide than cancer, AIDS, heart disease, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza and chronic lung disease COMBINED. *

• The fastest-growing age group of completed suicides is 10-14 year-olds.

• One in five youths has suicidal thoughts, one in ten has attempted suicide.**

• Suicide is the fastest growing killer of youth in America today.*

• For every completed youth suicide there are at least 20 attempts (more are unreported).**

• There are more suicides than homicides (about a 2:1 ratio).

• Young males are four times more likely to complete suicide while females are at greater risk for attempts.

• The number one risk factor that increases the chance of a completed suicide is the access to firearms (for more information click on the link below):.

Common Sense About Kids and Guns: California Information

  * Centers for Disease Control
** Washington State Department of Health

Suicide Myths and Facts:

Recognizing Warning Signs of Suicide

Sometimes teens feels so depressed that they consider ending their lives.  Remember, however, ALL YOUTH ARE AT RISK!!!  One in five has suicidal thoughts and one in ten will make an attempt.

• Suicide threats, direct and indirect

• Obsession with death

• Poems, essays and drawings that refer to death

• Dramatic change in personality or appearance

• Irrational, bizarre behavior

• Overwhelming sense of guilt, shame or rejection

• Changed eating or sleeping patterns

• Severe drop in school performance

• Giving away belongings

• Chronic pain

• Previous suicide attempts

Pay attention to talk about suicide.  Ask direction questions and don't be afraid of frank discussions.  Silence is deadly!  DO NOT take it all on yourself.  Do not take responsibility for making your family member well.  You are not a therapist.  DO NOT agree to keep your teen's confidence.  It's not betrayal, it's help.  Think how you would feel if you kept the secret and lost a family member.  BE SUPPORTIVE.  Let your teen know that you care and should not feel ashamed of their condition; it is not their fault.  Stand by your child through the recovery period - treatment will be successful in time.

Youth at Risk:

High Risk Groups

Depressed Youth: Depression can cloud an individual's thinking, making it more difficult to evaluate life stressors and to think of alternative solutions to problems.

Angry, Acting-Out Youth: Typically, these youth tend to have fewer successes in life, and have ineffective coping skills.  Anger management problems and qualities such as impulsive behavior, acting before considering possible consequences, are common.

Ethnic Minorities: Some Native American Tribes have youth suicide rates higher than the national average.  Asian and Pacific Islander females have high suicide rates.

Youth Alcohol/Drug Use: At least one-third of youth who complete suicide are under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.  Alcohol and other drug use can impair a youth's ability to think clearly and reduces inhibitions that might otherwise keep a youth from committing suicide.  Depressed or impulsive youth who are also involved with alcohol and/or other drugs are at very high risk.

Gay and Lesbian Youth: Adolescents struggling with sexual orientation issues often find themselves rejected by family and peers.  Compared to other youth, the incidence of suicide attempts among gay and lesbian youth is higher.

Gifted Youth: These youth often feel enormous pressure to be perfect at all times and believe they are loved and admired not for themselves, but for the accolades they receive and special abilities they have.

Learning-Disabled Youth: Difficulty learning can lead to low self-esteem and depression.  These youth face special and often difficult challenges in the classroom and the extra stress to complete their work could cause feelings of sadness strong enough to cause suicidal thoughts.

Unexpected Pregnancy: Girls may feel their lives are out of control and that choosing to die is the only real choice they have.

All Teens Are at Risk!

Depression is a disease with a specific pathology.  Chemicals in the brain are depleted when the person is severely depressed.  A certain chemical, found in the orbital cortex of the brain (where reason is controlled), is at extremely low levels or completely gone in autopsies of suicide victims.*

When these chemical levels are low due to depression, and judgment may be further impaired by drugs or alcohol, and with easy accessibility to guns, pills, etc., ANYBODY can fall into the abyss and make the wrong decision to end his or her life.  It may be the person you least suspect ... and often is.

*American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

For a list of warning signs and steps to helping a suicidal teenager, click here.

What You Can Do:

• Talk to your child about suicide. Ask if he or she has had suicidal thoughts. "Talking about suicide is the first step in trying to avoid it. It's the act which may break through the terrible isolation that a kid who is feeling so much pain and so desperate would be experiencing." - Dr. David Bergman

• Remove guns from your home, and keep prescriptions under lock and key.

• Don't put more pressure on your already overstressed teen.

• Create a Contract for Life with your child, where you make a pact to live.

• Encourage your children and their friends to carry and to use Yellow Ribbon Cards.

• Don't hesitate to seek professional help. Many depression-related problems are now easily and successfully treatable.

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The Light for Life Foundation of Southern California.  All rights reserved.