The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (January 2011) |
Suicide |
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Youth suicide is when a young person, generally categorized as someone below the legal age of majority, deliberately ends their own life. Rates of youth suicide and attempted youth suicide in Western societies and other countries are high. Youth suicide attempts are more common among girls, but adolescent males are the ones who usually carry out suicide.[1] Suicide rates in youths have nearly tripled between the 1960s and 1980s.[2] For example, in Australia suicide is second only to motor vehicle accidents as its leading cause of death for people aged 15 to 25.[3]
In the U.S., according to the National Institute of Mental Health, the suicide rate is the 2nd leading cause of death for adolescents between the ages of 10 and 14, and the third leading cause of death for those between 15 and 19.[4] In 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of ChiId and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children's Hospital Association released a joint statement announcing a mental health crisis among our youth.[5] Emergency room visits for mental health issues have dramatically increased, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]