Suicide Prevention

If you or someone you know is in danger of committing suicide, call 24 hours a day, English or Spanish:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: (800)-273-8255 or M-DCPS Crisis Team (305)-995-2278

Suicides among young people continue to be a serious problem. Each year in the U.S., thousands of teenagers commit suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15­to-24-year-olds, and the sixth leading cause of death for 5-to-14-year-olds.

Teenagers experience strong feelings of stress, confusion, self-doubt, pressure to succeed, financial uncertainty, and other fears while growing up. For some teenagers, divorce, the formation of a new family with step-parents and step-siblings, or moving to a new community can be very unsettling and can intensify self-doubts. For some teens, suicide may appear to be a solution to their problems and stress.

Depression and suicidal feelings are treatable mental disorders. The child or adolescent needs to have his or her illness recognized and diagnosed, and appropriate treatment plans developed. When parents are in doubt whether their child has a serious problem, a psychiatric examination can be very helpful.

Many of the signs and symptoms of suicidal feelings are similar to those of depression.

Parents should be aware of the following signs of adolescents who may try to kill themselves:

  • change in eating and sleeping habits
  • withdrawal from friends, family, and regular activities
  • violent actions, rebellious behavior, or running away
  • drug and alcohol use
  • unusual neglect of personal appearance
  • marked personality change
  • persistent boredom, difficulty concentrating, or a decline in the quality of schoolwork
  • frequent complaints about physical symptoms, often related to emotions, such as stomachaches, headaches, fatigue, etc.
  • loss of interest in pleasurable activities
  • not tolerating praise or rewards

A teenager who is planning to commit suicide may also:

  • complain of being a bad person or feeling rotten inside
  • give verbal hints with statements such as: I won’t be a problem for you much longer, “Nothing matters,” “It’s no use,” and “I won’t see you again”

Teen Suicide, “Facts for Families,” No. 10 (5/08)

  • put his or her affairs in order, for example, give away favorite possessions, clean his or her room, throw away important belongings, etc.
  • become suddenly cheerful after a period of depression
  • have signs of psychosis (hallucinations or bizarre thoughts)

If a child or adolescent says, I want to kill myself, or I’m going to commit suicide, always take the statement seriously and immediately seek assistance from a qualified mental health professional. People often feel uncomfortable talking about death. However, asking the child or adolescent whether he or she is depressed or thinking about suicide can be helpful. Rather than putting thoughts in the child’s head, such a question will provide assurance that somebody cares and will give the young person the chance to talk about problems.

If one or more of these signs occurs, parents need to talk to their child about their concerns and seek professional help. With support from family and appropriate treatment, children and teenagers who are suicidal can heal and return to a more healthy path of development.

For more information, see Facts for Families:

  • #3 Teens: Alcohol and Other Drugs,
  • #4 The Depressed Child,
  • #37 Children and Firearms, and
  • #38 Bipolar Disorder in Children and Teens

See also: Your Child (1998 Harper Collins)/Your Adolescent (1999 Harper Collins).

AACAP would like to thank the Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation for support.

If you find Facts for Families© helpful and would like to make good mental health a reality for all children, please consider donating to the Campaign for America’s Kids. Your support will help us continue to produce and distribute Facts for Families, as well as other vital mental health information, free of charge.

You may also mail in your contribution. Please make checks payable to the AACAP and send to Campaign for America’s Kids, P.O. Box 96106, Washington, DC 20090.

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) represents over 7,000 child and adolescent psychiatrists who are physicians with at least five years of additional training beyond medical school in general (adult) and child and adolescent psychiatry.

Facts for Families© information sheets are developed, owned and distributed by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and are supported by a grant from the Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation. Hard copies of Facts sheets may be reproduced for personal or educational use without written permission, but cannot be included in material presented for sale or profit. All Facts can be viewed and printed from the AACAP Web site (www.aacap.org). Facts sheets many not be reproduced, duplicated or posted on any other Internet Web site without written consent from AACAP. Organizations are permitted to create links to AACAP’s Web site and specific Facts sheets. To purchase complete sets of Facts for Families, please contact the AACAP’s Development and Communications Assistant at 800.333.7636, ext. 140.

Copyright © 2006 by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Suicide Prevention: Facts at a Glance

Statistics
Source: www.cdc.gov/injury
Source: www.cdc.gov

  • Suicide is the eleventh leading cause of death for all ages.
  • Suicides accounted for 1.3% of all deaths in the U.S.
  • Last year, more than 32,000 suicides occurred in the U.S. This is the equivalent of 89 suicides per day; one suicide every 16 minutes or 11.01 suicides per 100,000 population.
  • In 2005, 372,722 people were treated in emergency departments for self-inflicted injuries.
  • In 2006, 162,359 people were hospitalized due to self-inflicted injury.
  • Among young adults ages 15 to 24 years old, there is one suicide for every 100-200 attempts.
  • In 2007, 14.5% of U.S. high school students reported that they had seriously considered attempting suicide during the 12 months preceding the survey. More than 6.9% of students reported that they had actually attempted suicide one or more times during the same period.
  • Males take their own lives at nearly four times the rate of females and represent 79.4% of all U.S. suicides.
  • During their lifetime, women attempt suicide about two to three times as often as men.

Risk Factors
Source: http://theguide.fmhi.usf.edu/pdf/IB-3a.pdf

  • Previous suicide attempt or gesture
  • Feelings of hopelessness or isolation
  • Psychopathology (depressive disorders/mood disorders)
  • Parental psychopathology
  • Substance abuse disorder
  • Family history of suicidal behavior
  • Life stressors such as interpersonal losses (relationship, social, work) and legal or disciplinary problems
  • Access to firearms
  • Physical abuse
  • Sexual abuse
  • Conduct disorders or disruptive behaviors
  • Sexual orientation (homosexual, bisexual, and trans-gendered youth)
  • Juvenile delinquency
  • School and/or work problems
  • Contagion or imitation (exposure to media accounts of suicidal behavior and exposure to suicidal behavior in friends or acquaintances)
  • Chronic physical illness
  • Living alone and/or runaways
  • Aggressive-impulsive behaviors

Protective Factors
Source: http://theguide.fmhi.usf.edu/pdf/IB-3a.pdf

  • Family cohesion (family with mutual involvement, shared interests, and emotional support)
  • Good coping skills
  • Academic achievement
  • Perceived connectedness to the school
  • Good relationships with other school youth
  • Lack of access to means for suicidal behavior
  • Help-seeking behavior/advice seeking
  • Impulse control
  • Problem solving/conflict resolution abilities
  • Social integration/opportunities to participate
  • Sense of worth/confidence
  • Stable environment
  • Access to and care for mental/physical/ substance disorders
  • Responsibilities for others/pets
  • Religiosity (a controversial topic currently)
  • Problem solving/conflict resolution abilities
  • Social integration/opportunities to participate
  • Sense of worth/confidence
  • Stable environment
  • Access to and care for mental/physical/ substance disorders
  • Responsibilities for others/pets
  • Religiosity (a controversial topic currently)

Suicide Prevention Facts at a Glance Continued: Early Warning Signs
Source: http://theguide.fmhi.usf.edu/pdf/IB-3a.pdf

Withdrawal from friends and family

  • Preoccupation with death
  • Marked personality change and serious mood
  • changes
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Difficulties in school (decline in quality of work)
  • Change in eating and sleeping habits
  • Loss of interest in pleasurable activities
  • Frequent complaints about physical symptoms, often related to emotions, such as stomachaches, headaches, fatigue, etc.
  • Persistent boredom
  • Loss of interest in things one once cared about

Late Warning Signs
Source: http://theguide.fmhi.usf.edu/pdf/IB-3a.pdf

  • Actually talking about suicide or a plan
  • Exhibiting impulsivity such as violent actions, rebellious behavior, or running away
  • Refusing help, feeling “beyond help”
  • Complaining of being a bad person or feeling “rotten inside”
  • Making statements about hopelessness, helplessness, or worthlessness.
  • Not tolerating praise or rewards
  • Giving verbal hints with statements such as: “I won’t be a problem for you much longer,” “Nothing matters,” “It’s no use,” and “I won’t see you again”
  • Becoming suddenly cheerful after a period of depression-this may mean that the student has already made the decision to escape all problems by ending his/her life
  • Giving away favorite possessions
  • Making a last will and testament
  • Saying other things like: “I’m going to kill myself,” “I wish I were dead,” “or “I shouldn’t have been born.”

What to Do
Source: http://theguide.fmhi.usf.edu/pdf/IB-6c.pdf

Always ensure a student’s safety.

  • Send someone for help.
  • Listen.
  • Be Direct.
  • Remain calm.
  • Be empathetic.
  • Always take the student seriously.
  • Know what resources are available in your school before hand.
  • Be honest.
  • Know your limits.
  • Make sure that at each stage of the intervention the student knows what is going on.

What Not to Do
Source: http://theguide.fmhi.usf.edu/pdf/IB-6c.pdf

  • Don’t be judgmental. Listen and show concern.
  • Don’t preach to the student.
  • Never leave the student alone or send the student away. This may just reinforce feelings of isolation and hopelessness.
  • Don’t worry about silence during discussion.
  • Don’t under-react or minimize. Even if a student is seeking attention, you should act. The benefits could certainly out way the costs.
  • If a student is threatening suicide and does have a weapon, never try to physically take the weapon from the student.