Youth Suicide Prevention

• About Youth Suicide

• Facts and Statistics

• Charts

• Warning Signs

• State Plan

• Resources

• Media Guidelines

• Best Practices

• Contact Us

• Adolescent Health

• Safe Kids Washington

• Injury Prevention

• DOH Web (A-Z) (Topics)

• Alternate File Format

Preventing suicide takes many forms – from building strong, capable youth who are connected to families, friends and their communities, to teaching individuals to recognize suicide warning signs. It also includes increasing access to the medical-mental health treatment system.

Washington State’s Plan for Youth Suicide Prevention describes a multi-layered approach to the problem. It details what individuals, organizations, and community or state agencies can do to prevent youth suicide.

Youth Suicide Prevention – 1995 to 2009

In 1995, Washington created its first Youth Suicide Prevention Plan. Since then, work has begun on some of its recommendations:

• The 1995 Legislature allocated $500,000 per year for youth suicide prevention work, funding 25 percent of the estimated cost of carrying out the full plan. In 1999, that funding was reduced to $250,000 per year and in 2009 to $175,000 per year.

• The Youth Suicide Prevention Program, a private, non-profit organization, was founded to provide support and leadership in suicide prevention across the state.

• A statewide public awareness campaign conducted in 1996 reached about 500,000 people in Washington.

• Since 2006, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction has provided $100,000 per year for suicide prevention curriculum.

• A three-year federal grant has funded local activities at seven sites serving higher-risk youth, has encouraged people engaged in youth suicide prevention to share their knowledge and experiences, and has supported the completion of this state plan.

We Still Have Far to Go

Suicide among youth in Washington state persists. Suicide rates among Washington youth remain higher than the national average.¹

• Suicide remains a difficult, often taboo subject to talk about.

• Overall, few communities and organizations address suicide and suicide prevention in a regular and routine manner.

• Research shows that at least 80 percent of youth who attempt ^4-8 or complete ^9-13 suicide have a diagnosable mental illness. Many youth cannot get needed mental health care due to limited public resources.

• The estimated cost of fully implementing the 1995 plan was $2 million per year. Without that level of funding, many recommendations in that ambitious plan were not addressed.

The Picture of Youth Suicide in Washington State Today

• There were nearly twice as many suicides as homicides of youth ages 10–24 (data from 2002–2006).¹

• Fifty-one percent of all suicides by 10–24 year olds took place with a firearm (data from 2002–2006).¹

• Responses to the 2008 Washington Healthy Youth Survey showed that 17 percent of 10th graders (about 14,000 students in the state) seriously thought about attempting suicide during the 12 months prior to the survey and that 9 percent of 10th graders (about 7,500 students in the state) made a suicide attempt in the 12 months prior to the survey.¹⁴

• Responses by sixth-graders on the 2008 Washington Healthy Youth Survey showed that 16 percent (about 12,250 students in the state) had ever seriously considered killing themselves and that 5 percent (almost 4,000 students in the state) had ever tried to kill themselves.¹⁴

• In 2006, the suicides of 120 Washington youth ages 10–24 cost an estimated $231 million in medical costs and lost future productivity. The 892 hospitalizations due to attempted suicides cost $18 million in medical care and lost short-term productivity.¹⁵

The Goals of Washington State’s Plan for Youth Suicide Prevention will guide our work in Washington during the next five years. They represent the best thinking of the Youth Suicide Prevention Steering Committee, reflect national research and experiences of other states, and use a variety of approaches to get the best results.

Goal 1 — Suicide is recognized as everyone’s business. (73.35 KB) *

Goal 2 — Youth ask for and get help when they need it. (70.00 KB)

Goal 3 — People know what to look for and how to help. (74.26 KB)

Goal 4 — Care is available for those who seek it. (74.13 KB)

Goal 5 — Suicide is recognized as a preventable public health problem. (74.96 KB)

*   PDF Documents will be made available in an alternative format on request to users who are unable to download or view .pdf files on the Web.
To request an alternative format, contact: Injury Prevention Web Coordinator

Citations:

1.  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [online]. (2009) Available from URL: www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars. Accessed May 15, 2009.
2. Washington State Department of Health, Center for Health Statistics, Death Certificate Records (2008 release). Available at: www.doh.wa.gov/hsqa/emstrauma/injury/data_tables/by_age/nonfatal/default.htm. Accessed on March 31, 2009.
3. Washington State Department of Health, Center for Health Statistics, Comprehensive Hospital Abstract Reporting System (CHARS – 2008 release). Available at: www.doh.wa.gov/hsqa/emstrauma/injury/data_tables/by_age/nonfatal/default.htm. Accessed on March 31, 2009.
4. Beautrais AL, Joyce PR, Muldur RT. Risk factors for serious suicide attempts among youths aged 13 through 24 years. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 1996; 35:1174-1182.
5. Kessler RC, Berglund P, Guilherme B, Nock M, Wang PS. Trends in suicide ideation, plans, gestures and attempts in the United States, 1990-1992 to 2001-2003. JAMA. 2005; 293:1487-2495.
6. Lewinsohn PM, Rohde P, Seeley JR. Psychosocial risk factors for future adolescent suicide attempts. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1994; 62:297-305.
7. Lewinsohn PM, Rohde P, Seeley JR. Adolescent suicidal ideation and attempts: Prevalence, risk factors, and clinical implications. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice. 1996; 3:25-46.
8. Andrews JA, Lewinsohn PM. Suicidal attempts among older adolescents: prevalence and co-occurrence with psychiatric disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 1992; 31:655-662.
9. Brent DA, Perper JA, Moritz G, et al. Psychiatric risk factors for adolescent suicide: A case-control study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 1993; 32:521-529.
10. Brown GK, Beck AT, Steer RA, Grisham JR. Risk factors for suicide in psychiatric outpatients: A 20-year prospective study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 2000; 28:371-377.
11. Fleischmann A, Bertolote JM, Belfer M, Beautrais A. Completed suicide and psychiatric diagnoses in young people: A critical examination of the evidence. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 2005; 75:676-683.
12. Brent DA, Perper JA, Goldstein CE, et al. Risk factors for adolescent suicide: A comparison of adolescent suicide victims with suicidal inpatients. Archives of General Psychiatry. 1988; 45:581-588.
13. Shaffer D, Gould MS, Fisher P, et al. Psychiatric diagnosis in child and adolescent suicide. Archives of General Psychiatry. 1996; 53:339-348.
14. Washington State Healthy Youth Survey 2008 Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Department of Health, Department of Social and Health Services, and Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development and RMC Research Corporation. Available from URL: https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/hys. Accessed March 15, 2009.
15. Children’s Safety Network, Economics and Data Analysis Resource Center, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, MD, 2008. All costs in 2006 dollars.

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