The epidemiology of youth suicide

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511550423.002

1 - The epidemiology of youth suicide

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 December 2009

Madelyn S. Gould ,

David Shaffer and

Ted Greenberg

Edited by

Robert A. King and

Alan Apter

Show author details

Madelyn S. Gould: Affiliation:
Professor, Psychiatry and Public Health (Epidemiology), Columbia University, New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive Unit 72, New York, NY 10032 USA e-mail: [email protected] tel: +1-212-543-5329, fax: +1-212-543-5966
David Shaffer: Affiliation:
Irving Philips Professor of Psychiatry, Columbia University; Director of Child Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032 USA e-mail: [email protected] tel: +1-212-543-5947, fax: +1-212-543-5966
Ted Greenberg: Affiliation:
Research Scientist, Columbia University, New York State Psychiatric Institute, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032 USA e-mail: [email protected] tel: +1-212-543-5931
Robert A. King: Affiliation:
Yale University, Connecticut
Alan Apter: Affiliation:
Tel-Aviv University

Book contents

Get access

Summary

Introduction

This chapter reviews three major sources of data that are used to derive the epidemiology of completed suicide in children and adolescents - official mortality statistics, the psychological autopsy literature, and general population epidemiologic surveys of nonlethal suicidal behavior. A presentation of the rates andpatterns of completed and attempted suicide will be followed by a discussion of the risk factors for youth suicide. This information on the epidemiology of youth completed and attempted suicide can be applied to planning of services, the drawing of causal inferences or the identification of developmental phenomena.

Suicide rates and patterns

Completed suicide

Leading causes of adolescent and young adult death in the U.S.

Unintentional injuries, suicide and homicide are consistently the leading causes of death among youth aged 10–24 in the U.S. (Table 1.1 Suicide was the fourth leading cause of death among 10- to 14-year-olds, and the third leading cause of death among 15- to 19-year-olds and among 20- to 24-year-olds in 1999. The rankings vary by gender and ethnicity: suicide accounts for more deaths among males and whites. Age, gender, and ethnic differences in incidence will be discussed further below.

Age

The incidence of suicide varies markedly by age. In 1999, 192 boys and 50 girls aged between 10 and 14 committed suicide in the U.S., accounting for 5.8% (242/4121) of all deaths occurring in this age group. The age-specific mortality rate from suicide was 1.2 per 100,000.

Keywords

epidemiologic surveys ethnicity mortality statistics National Center for Health Statistics psychological autopsy literature youth suicide nonlethal suicidal behavior

Type: Chapter
Information: Suicide in Children and Adolescents , pp. 1 - 40

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511550423.002 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adcock, A. G., Nagy, S., and Simpson, J. A. (1991). Selected risk factors in adolescent suicide attempts. Adolescence, 26, 817–828Google Scholar

Andrews, J. A., and Lewinsohn, P. M. (1992). Suicidal attempts among older adolescents: prevalence and co-occurrence with psychiatric disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31, 655–662CrossRef Google Scholar

Andrews, V. C., Garrison, C. Z., Jackson, K. L., Addy, C. L., and McKeown, R. E. (1993). Mother-adolescent agreement on the symptoms and diagnoses of adolescent depression and conduct disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 32, 731–738Google Scholar

Andrus, J. K., Fleming, D. W., Heumann, M. A., Wassell, J. T., Hopkins, D. D., and Gordon, J., (1991). Surveillance of attempted suicide among adolescents in Oregon, 1988. American Journal of Public Health, 81, 1067–1069Google Scholar

Appleby, L., Cooper, J., Amos, T., and Faragher, B., (1999). Psychological autopsy study of suicides by people aged under 35. British Journal of Psychiatry, 175, 168–174Google Scholar

Apter, A., Bleich, A., King, R., Kron, S., Fluch, A., Kotler, M., and Cohen, D. J. (1993). Death without warning? A clinical postmortem study of suicide in 43 Israeli adolescent males. Archives of General Psychiatry, 50, 138–142CrossRef Google Scholar

Asarnow, J., Carlson, G., and Guthrie, D., (1987). Coping strategies, self perceptions, hopelessness, and perceived family environments in depressed and suicidal children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 361–366CrossRef Google Scholar

Asberg, M., Nordstrom, P., and Traskman-Bendz, L. (1986). Biological factor in suicide. In Roy, A. (ed.), Suicide (pp. 47–71). Baltimore, MD: Williams and Wilkins

Barraclough, B. M. (1973). Differences between national suicide rates. British Journal of Psychiatry, 122, 95–96Google Scholar

Barraclough, B. M., Bunch, J., Nelson, B., and Sainsbury, P., (1974). A hundred cases of suicide: clinical aspects. British Journal of Psychiatry, 125, 355–373Google Scholar

Barraclough, B. M., Shepherd, D., and Jennings, C., (1977). Do newspaper reports of coroners' inquests incite people to commit suicide?British Journal of Psychiatry, 131, 258–532Google Scholar

Beautrais, A. L., Joyce, P. R., and Mulder, R. T. (1996). Risk factors for serious suicide attempts among youths aged 13 through 24 years. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35(9), 1174–1182CrossRef Google Scholar

Beautrais, A. L., Joyce, P. R., and Mulder, R. T. (1997). Precipitating factors and life events in serious suicide attempts among youths aged 13 through 24 years. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36(11), 1543–1551Google Scholar

Berkson, J., (1946). Limitations of the application of fourfold table analysis to hospital data. Biometrics Bulletin, 2, 47–53Google Scholar

Berman, A. L. (1988). Fictional depiction of suicide in television films and imitation effects. American Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 982–986Google Scholar

Berman, A. L., and Jobes, D. A. (1995). Suicide prevention in adolescents (age 12–18). Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 25(1), 143–154Google Scholar

Beskow, J., Runeson, B., and Asgard, U., (1990). Psychological autopsies: methods and ethics. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 20(4), 307–323Google Scholar

Biblarz, A., Brown, R. M., Biblarz, D. N., Pilgrim, M., and Baldree, B. F. (1991). Media influence on attitudes toward suicide. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 21, 374–384Google Scholar

Bird, H. R., Yager, T., Staghezza, B., and Gould, M. S., (1990). Impairment in the epidemiological measurement of childhood psychopathology in the community. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 29, 796–803Google Scholar

Blumenthal, S. J. (1990). Youth suicide: risk factors assessment, and treatment of adolescent and young adult suicidal patients. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 13, 511–556Google Scholar

Blumenthal, S., and Bergner, L., (1973). Suicide and newspaper: a replicated study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 130, 468–471Google Scholar

Bollen, K. A., and Phillips, D. P. (1981). Suicidal motor vehicle fatalities in Detroit: a replication. American Journal of Sociology, 87, 404–412Google Scholar

Bollen, K. A., and Phillips, D. P. (1982). Imitative suicides: a national study of the effect of television news stories. American Sociological Review, 47, 802–809Google Scholar

Boyd, J. H. (1983). The increasing rate of suicide by firearms. New England Journal of Medicine, 308, 872–874Google Scholar

Boyd, J. H., and Moscicki, E. K. (1986). Firearms and youth suicide. American Journal of Public Health, 76, 1240–1242Google Scholar

Brent, D. A. (1995). Risk factors for adolescent suicide and suicidal behavior: mental and substance abuse disorders, family environmental factors, and life stress. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 25, 52–63Google Scholar

Brent, D. A. (1996). Familial factors in suicide and suicidal behavior. Lifesavers: The Quarterly Newsletter of the American Suicide Foundation, 8, 2–3Google Scholar

Brent, D. A., Perper, J. A., and Allman, C. J. (1987). Alcohol, firearms, and suicide among youth: temporal trends in Allegheny County, PA, 1960–1983. Journal of the American Medical Association, 257, 3369–3372Google Scholar

Brent, D. A., Perper, J. A., Goldstein, C. E., Kilko, D. J., Allan, M. J., Allman, C. J., and Zelenak, J. P., (1988a). Risk factors for adolescent suicide: a comparison of adolescent suicide victims with suicidal inpatients. Archives of General Psychiatry, 45, 581–588Google Scholar

Brent, D. A., Perper, J. A., Kolko, D. J., and Zelenak, J. P., (1988b). The psychological autopsy: methodological considerations for the study of adolescent suicide. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 27(3), 362–366Google Scholar

Brent, D. A., Kerr, M. M., Goldstein, C., Boxigar, J., Wartella, M., and Allan, M. J. (1989). An outbreak of suicide and suicidal behavior in a high school. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 28(6), 918–924Google Scholar

Brent, D. A., Perper, J. A., Allman, C. J., Moritz, G. M., Wartella, M. E., and Zelenak, J. P. (1991). The presence and accessibility of firearms in the homes of adolescent suicides: a case-control study. Journal of the American Medical Association, 266, 2989–2995CrossRef Google Scholar

Brent, D. A., Perper, J. A., Moritz, G., Allan, C., Lewinsohn, A., Roth, B. S., Schweers, J., Balach, L., and Baugher, M., (1993a). Psychiatric risk factors for adolescent suicide: a case control study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 32(3), 521–529Google Scholar

Brent, D. A., Perper, J. A., Moritz, G., Baugher, M., Roth, C., Balach, L., and Schweers, J., (1993b). Stressful life events, psychopathology and adolescent suicide: a case control study. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 23(3), 179–187Google Scholar

Brent, D. A., Perper, J. A., Moritz, G. M., Baugher, M., Schweers, J., and Ross, C., (1993c). Firearms and adolescent suicide, a community case control study. American Journal of Diseases of Children, 147, 1066–1071Google Scholar

Brent, D. A., Perper, J. A., Moritz, G., Liotus, L., Schweers, J., Balach, L., and Roth, C., (1994). Familial risk factors for adolescent suicide: a case-control study. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 89, 52–58Google Scholar

Brent, D. A., Bridge, J., Johnson, B. A., and Connolly, J., (1996). Suicidal behavior runs in families: a controlled family study of adolescent suicide victims. Archives of General Psychiatry, 53, 1145–1152CrossRef Google Scholar

Brent, D. A., Baugher, M., Bridge, J., Chen, T., and Chiappetta, L., (1999). Age- and sex-related risk factors for adolescent suicide. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38, 1497–1505Google Scholar

Cain, V. S. (1989). In Fowler, F. J. (ed.), Methodological Experiments in the National Survey of Health and Sexual Behavior (pp. 241–258). Washington D.C: Department of Health and Human Services

Canino, G., and Roberts, R. E. (2001). Suicidal behavior among Latino youth. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 31 (Supplement), 122–131Google Scholar

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (1995). Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance - United States, 1993. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 44 (SS01), 1–56

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (1996). Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance - United States, 1995. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 45 (SS04), 1–84

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (1998). Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance - United States, 1997. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 47 (SS03), 1–89

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2000). Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance - United States, 1999. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 49 (SS05), 1–96

Cole, D. A. (1988). Hopelessness, socia. desirabilit., depression, and parasuicide in two college student samples. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 131–136Google Scholar

Cutright, P., and Fernquist, R. M., (2000). Firearms and suicide: the American experience, 1926–1996. Death Studies, 24, 705–719Google Scholar

Davidson, L. E., Rosenberg, M. L., Mercy, J. A., Franklin, J., and Simmons, J. T. (1989). An epidemiologic study of risk factors in two teenage suicide clusters. Journal of the American Medical Association, 262, 2687–2692Google Scholar

Demetriades, D., Murray, J., Myles, D., Chand, L., Sathyaragiswaran, L., Noguchi, T., Bongard, F. S., Vryer, G. H., and Gaspard, D. J. (1998). Epidemiology of major trauma and trauma deaths in Los Angeles County. Journal of the American College of Surgery, 187, 373–383Google Scholar

Diekstra, R. F., Kienhorst, C. W. M., and de Wilde, E. J. (1995). Suicide and suicidal behavior among adolescents. In Rutter, M. and Smith, D. (eds.), Psychosocial Disorders in Young People, Time Trends and their Causes (pp. 686–761). New York: John Wiley & Sons

Dubow, E. F., Kausch, D. F., Blum, M. C., Reed, J., and Bush, E., (1989). Correlates of suicidal ideation and attempts in a community sample of junior high and high school students. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 18, 158–166Google Scholar

Etzersdorfer, E., Sonneck, G., and Nagel-Kuess, S., (1992). Newspaper reports and suicide. New England Journal of Medicine, 327, 502–503Google Scholar

Faulkner, A. H., and Cranston, K., (1998). Correlates of same-sex behavior in a random sample of Massachusetts high school students. American Journal of Public Health, 88, 262–266CrossRef Google Scholar

Fekete, S. and Schmidtke, A. (1995). The impact of mass media reports on suicide and attitudes toward self-destruction: previous studies and some new data from Hungary and Germany. In Mishara, B. L. (ed.), The Impact of Suicide (pp. 142–155). New York: Springer

Felts, W. M., Chenier, T., and Barnes, R., (1992). Drug use and suicide ideation and behavior among North Carolina public school students. American Journal of Public Health, 82, 870–872Google Scholar

Fergusson, D. M., and Lynskey, M., (1995). Childhood circumstances, adolescent adjustment, and suicide attempts in a New Zealand birth cohort. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 612–622Google Scholar

Fergusson, D. M., Horwood, L. J., and Beautrais, A. L., (1999). Is sexual orientation related to mental health problems and suicidality in young people?Archives of General Psychiatry, 56, 876–880Google Scholar

Fleiss, J. L. (1981). Statistical Methods for Rates and Proportions. New York: John Wiley & Sons

Ganzeboom, H. B. G., and Haan, D., (1982). Gepubliceerde zelfmoorden en verhoging van sterfte door zelfmoord en ongelukken in Nederland 1972–1980. Mens en Maatschappij, 57, 55–69Google Scholar

Garofalo, R., Wolf, R., Cameron, M. S., Kessel, S., Palfrey, J., and DuRant, R. H. (1998). The association between health risk behaviors and sexual orientation among a school-based sample of adolescents. Pediatrics, 101, 895–902CrossRef Google Scholar

Garrison, C. Z., Jackson, K. L., Addy, C. L., McKeown, R. E., and Waller, J. L. (1991). Suicidal behaviors in young adolescents. American Journal of Epidemiology, 133(10), 1005–1014Google Scholar

Garrison, C. Z., McKeown, R. E., Valois, R. F., and Vincent, M. L. (1993). Aggression, substance use, and suicidal behaviors in high school students. American Journal of Public Health, 83, 179–184Google Scholar

Gibbons, R. D., Clark, D. C., and Fawcett, J. A. (1990). A statistical method for evaluating suicide clusters and implementing cluster surveillance. American Journal of Epidemiology, 132, 183–191Google Scholar

Gibson, J. A. P., and Range, L. M. (1991). Are written reports of suicide and seeking help contagious? High schoolers' perceptions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 21, 1517–1523CrossRef Google Scholar

Goodwin, R., Gould, M. S., Blanco, C., and Olfson, M., (2001). Prescription of psychotropic medications to youths in office-based practice. Psychiatry Service, 52, 1081–1087Google Scholar

Gould, M. S. (1999). Psychological Autopsy of Cluster Suicides in Adolescents. Grant R01 MH47559-04S2. Bethesda, MD: National Institute of Mental Health

Gould, M. S. (2001). Suicide and the media. In Hendin, H., and Mann, J. J. (eds.) Suicide Prevention: Clinical and Scientific Aspects. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. New York City, NY: New York Academy of Sciences

Gould, M. S., and Kramer, R. A. (2001). Youth suicide prevention. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 31 (Supplement), Spring: 6–31CrossRef Google Scholar

Gould, M. S., and Shaffer, D., (1986). The impact of suicide in television movies: evidence of imitation. New England Journal of Medicine, 315, 690–694Google Scholar

Gould, M. S., Shaffer, D., and Kleinman, M., (1988). The impact of suicide in television movies: Replication and commentary. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 18, 90–99Google Scholar

Gould, M. S., Wallenstein, S., and Kleinman, M., (1990a). Time-space clustering of teenage suicide. American Journal of Epidemiology, 131, 71–78Google Scholar

Gould, M. S., Wallenstein, S., Kleinman, M. H., O'Carroll, P., and Mercy, J., (1990b). Suicide clusters: an examination of age-specific effects. American Journal of Public Health, 80, 211–212Google Scholar

Gould, M. S., Petrie, K., Kleinman, M., and Wallenstein, S., (1994). Clustering of attempted suicide: New Zealand National Data. International Journal of Epidemiology, 23(8), 1185–1189Google Scholar

Gould, M. S., Forman, J., Kleinman, M., and Wallenstein, S. (1995). Psychological autopsy of cluster suicides in adolescents. Paper presented at the 42nd meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New Orleans, LA, 17–22 October 1995

Gould, M. S., Fisher, P., Parides, M., Flory, M., and Shaffer, D., (1996). Psychosocial risk factors of child and adolescent completed suicide. Archives of General Psychiatry, 53, 1155–1162Google Scholar

Gould, M. S., King, R., Greenwald, S., Fisher, P., Schwab-Stone, M., Kramer, R., Flisher, A. J., Goodman, S., Canino, G., and Shaffer, D., (1998). Psychopathology associated with suicidal ideation and attempts among children and adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 37, 915–923CrossRef Google Scholar

Greenhill, L., Waslick, B., Parides, M., Fan, B., Shaffer, D., and Mann, J. J. (1995). Biological studies in suicidal adolescent inpatients. Scientific Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 11, 124. New York City, NY: American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Groholt, B., Ekeberg, O., Wichstrom, L., and Haldorsen, T., (1998). Suicide among children and younger and older adolescents in Norway: a comparative study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 37(5), 473–481Google Scholar

Grunbaum, J. A., Basen-Engquist, K., and Pandey, D., (1998). Association between violent behaviors and substance use among Mexican-American and non-Hispanic White high school students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 23, 153–159CrossRef Google Scholar

Harkavy Friedman, J. M., Asnis, G. M., Boeck, M., and DiFiore, J., (1987). Prevalence of specific suicidal behaviors in a high school sample. American Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 1203–1206CrossRef Google Scholar

Hawton, K., Houston, K., and Shepperd, R., (1999). Suicide in young people. British Journal of Psychiatry, 175, 271–276Google Scholar

Haynes, R. H. (1987). Suicide and social response in Fiji: a historical survey. British Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 21–26Google Scholar

Ho, T. P., Hung, S. F., Lee, C. C., Chung, K. F., and Chung, S. Y. (1995). Characteristics of youth suicide in Hong Kong. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 30, 107–112Google Scholar

Holding, T. A. (1974). The B.B.C. “Befrienders” series and its effects. British Journal of Psychiatry, 124, 470–472Google Scholar

Holding, T. A. (1975). Suicide and “The Befrienders”. British Medical Journal, 3, 751–753CrossRef Google Scholar

Houston, K., Hawton, K. and Shepperd, R., (2001). Suicide in young people aged 15–24: A psychological autopsy study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 63, 159–170Google Scholar

Isacsson, G. (2000). Suicide prevention-a medical breakthrough: Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 102, 113–117Google Scholar

Ishii, K. (1991). Measuring mutual causation: effect of suicide news on suicides in Japan. Social Science Research, 20, 188–195CrossRef Google Scholar

Jobes, D. A., Berman, A. L., and Josselson, A. R. (1987). Improving the validity and reliability of medical-legal certifications of suicide. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 17(4), 310-325CrossRef Google Scholar

Joffe, R. T., Offord, D. R., and Boyle, M. H. (1988). Ontario Child Health Study: suicidal behavior in youth aged 12–16 years. American Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 1420–1423Google Scholar

Jonas, K. (1992). Modelling and suicide: a test of the Werther effect. British Journal of Social Psychology, 31, 295–306CrossRef Google Scholar

Kaltiala-Heino, R., Rimpela, M., Marttunen, M., Rimpela, A., and Rantanen, P. (1999). Bullying, depression, and suicidal ideation in Finnish adolescents: school survey. British Medical Journal, 319, 348–351Google Scholar

Kandel, D. (1988). Substance use, depressive mood, and suicidal ideation in adolescence and young adulthood. In Stiffman, A. R. and Feldman, R. A. (eds.), Advances in Adolescent Mental Health. Greenwich, CT: JAI press

Kandel, D. B., Raveis, V. H., and Davies, M. (1991). Suicidal ideation in adolescence: depression, substance abuse, and other risk factors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 20, 289–309Google Scholar

Kashani, J. H., Goddard, P., and Reid, J. C. (1989). Correlates of suicidal ideation in a community sample of children and adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 28, 912–917Google Scholar

Kessler, R. C., Downey, G., Stipp, H., and Milavsky, R. (1989). Network television news stories about suicide and short-term changes in total U.S. suicides. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders, 177 (Supplement 9), 551–555Google Scholar

Kessler, R. C., Borges, G., and Walters, E. E. (1999). Prevalence of and risk factors for lifetime suicide attempts in the National Comorbidity Survey. Archives of General Psychiatry, 56, 617-626Google Scholar

Lesage, A. D., Boyer, R., Grunberg, F., Vanier, C., Morissette, R., Menard-Buteau, C., and Loyer, M. (1994). Suicide and mental disorders: a case-control study of youth men. American Journal of Psychiatry, 151(7), 1063–1068Google Scholar

Lewinsohn, P. M., Rohde, P., and Seeley, J. R. (1994). Psychosocial risk factors for future adolescent suicide attempts. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62, 297–305CrossRef Google Scholar

Lewinsohn, P. M., Rohde, P., and Seeley, J. R. (1996). Adolescent suicidal ideation and attempts: prevalence, risk factors, and clinical implications. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice, 3(1), 25–36Google Scholar

Lewinsohn, P. M., Rohde, P., Seeley, J. R., and Baldwin, C. L. (2001). Gender differences in suicide attempts from adolescence to young adulthood. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40(4), 427–434Google Scholar

Lewis, S. A., Johnson, J., Cohen, P., Garcia, M. and Velez, C. N. (1988). Attempted suicide in youth: its relationship to school achievement, educational goals and socioeconomic status. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 16(4), 459–471Google Scholar

Lonnqvist, J. (2000). Suicide mortality in Finland declined by 21% from 1990 to 1998. Psychiatria Fennica, 31, 5Google Scholar

Mann, J. J. and Stoff, D. M. (1997). A synthesis of current findings regarding neurobiological correlates and treatment of suicidal behavior. Annals New York Academy of Sciences, 836, 352-363CrossRef Google Scholar

Marttunen, M. J., Aro, H. M., Henriksson, M. M., and Lonnqvist, J. K. (1991). Mental disorders in adolescent suicide. Archives of General Psychiatry, 48, 834–839CrossRef Google Scholar

Marttunen, M. J., Aro, H. M., and Lonnqvist, J. K. (1993). Precipitant stressors in adolescent suicide. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 32(6), 1178–1183Google Scholar

Marttunen, M. J., Aro, H. M., Henrikksson, M. M., and Lonnqvist, J. k. (1994). Psychosocial stressors more common in adolescent suicides with alcohol abuse compared with depressive adolescent suicides. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 33(4), 490–497Google Scholar

Mohler, B. and Earls, F. (2001). Trends in adolescent suicide: misclassifation bias?American Journal of Public Health, 91(1), 150–153Google Scholar

Monk, M. (1987). Epidemiology of suicide. Epidemiologic Reviews, 9, 51–69Google Scholar

Moscicki, E. K. (1995). Epidemiology of suicidal behavior. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 25(1), 22–35Google Scholar

Motto, J. A. (1970). Newspaper influence on suicide. Archives of General Psychiatry, 23, 143–148Google Scholar

O'Carroll, P. W., (1989). A consideration of the validity and reliability of suicide mortality data. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 19(1), 1–16Google Scholar

O'Donnell, I. and Farmer, R. (1995). The limitations of official suicide statistics. British Journal of Psychiatryd, 166, 458–461CrossRef Google Scholar

Pfeffer, C. R., McBride, A., Anderson, G. M., Kakuma, T., Fensterheim, L., and Khait, V. (1998). Peripheral serotonin measures in prepubertal psychiatric inpatients and normal children: associations with suicidal behavior and its risk factors. Biological Psychiatry, 44, 568–577Google Scholar

Phillips, D. (1974). The influence of suggestions on suicide; substantive and theoretical implications of the Werther effect. American Sociological Review, 39, 340–354Google Scholar

Phillips, D. (1979). Suicide, motor vehicle fatalities, and the mass media: evidence toward a theory of suggestion. American Journal of Sociology, 84, 1150–1174CrossRef Google Scholar

Phillips, D. (1980). Airplane accidents, murder, and the mass media: towards a theory of imitation and suggestion. Social Forces, 58, 1001–1004Google Scholar

Phillips, D. and Carstensen, L. L. (1986). Clustering of teenage suicides after television news stories about suicide. New England Journal of Medicine, 315, 685–689CrossRef Google Scholar

Phillips, D. and Paight, D. J. (1987). The impact of televised movies about suicide: a replicative study. New England Journal of Medicine, 317, 809–811Google Scholar

Phillips, D. P. and Ruth, T. E. (1993). Adequacy of official suicide statistics for scientific research and public policy. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 23(4), 307–319Google Scholar

Reifman, A. and Windle, M. (1995). Adolescent suicidal behaviors as a function of depression, hopelessness, alcohol use, and social support: a longitudinal investigation. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23, 329–354Google Scholar

Reinherz, H. A., Giaconia, R. M., Silverman, A. B., Friedman, A., Pakiz, B., Frost, A. K., and Cohen, E. (1995). Early psychosocial risks for adolescent suicidal ideation and attempts. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 599–611Google Scholar

Remafedi, G., French, S., Story, M., Resnick, M. D., and Blum, R. (1998). The relationship between suicide risk and sexual orientation: results of a population-based study. American Journal of Public Health, 88, 57–60Google Scholar

Rich, C. L., Young, D., and Fowler, M. D. (1986). San Diego Suicide Study: I. Young vs old subjects. Archives of General Psychiatry, 45, 577–582Google Scholar

Rich, C. L., Fowler, R. C., Fogarty, L. A., and Young, D. (1988). San Diego Suicide Study: III. Relationships between diagnoses and stressors. Archives of General Psychiatry, 45, 589–592Google Scholar

Riggs, S., Alario, A. J., and McHorney, C. (1990). Health risk behaviors and attempted suicide in adolescents who report prior maltreatment. The Journal of Pediatrics, 116, 815–821CrossRef Google Scholar

Roberts, R. E. and Chen, Y. (1995). Depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation among Mexican-origin and Anglo adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 81–90Google Scholar

Roberts, R. E., Chen, Y., and Roberts, C. R. (1997). Ethnocultural differences in prevalence of adolescent suicidal behaviors. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 27, 208–217Google Scholar

Robins, E., Murphy, P. I., Wilkinson, R. H. Jr., Gassner, S., and Kayes, J. (1959). Some clinical considerations in the prevention of suicide based on a study of 134 successful suicides. American Journal of Public Health, 49, 888–988Google Scholar

Rosenberg, M. L., Davidson, L. E., Smith, J. C., Berman, A. L., Buzbee, H., Gantner, G., Gay, G. A., Moore-Lewis, B., Mills, D. H., Murray, D., O'Carroll, P. W., and Jobes, D. (1988). Operational criteria for the determination of suicide. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 33(6), 1445–1456Google Scholar

Rotheram-Borus, M. J. and Trautman, P. D. (1988). Hopelessness, depression and suicidal intent among adolescent suicide attempters. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 27, 700–704Google Scholar

Rotheram-Borus, M. J., Trautman, P. D., Dopkins, S. C., and Shrout, P. E. (1990). Cognitive style and pleasant activities among female adolescent suicide attempters. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58, 554–561Google Scholar

Runeson, B. (1989). Mental disorder in youth suicide: DSM-III-R Axes I and II. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 79, 490–497Google Scholar

Runeson, B. (1990). Psychoactive substance use disorder in youth suicide. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 25, 561–568Google Scholar

Safer, D. (1997). Self-reported suicide attempts by adolescents. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, 9, 263–269Google Scholar

Sainsbury, P. (1983). Validity and reliability of trends in suicide statistics. World Health Quarterly, 339–348Google Scholar

Schmidtke, A., and Hafner, A. (1988). The Werther effect after television films: new evidence for an old hypothesis. Psychological Medicine, 18, 665–676CrossRef Google Scholar

Schmidtke, A., and Schaller, S. (2000). The role of mass media in suicide prevention. In Hawton, K., and van Heeringen, K. (eds.) The International Handbook of Suicide and Attempted Suicide (pp. 675–698). New York City, NY: John Wiley &Sons

Schulsinger, F. (1980). Biological psychopathology. Annual Review of Psychology, 31, 583–606Google Scholar

Shaffer, D. (1974). Suicide in childhood and early adolescence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 15, 275–291Google Scholar

Shaffer, D. (1988). The epidemiology of teen suicide: an examination of risk factors. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 49(9), 36–41Google Scholar

Shaffer, D. and Craft, L. (1999). Methods of adolescent suicide prevention. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 60, 70–74Google Scholar

Shaffer, D. and Hicks, R. (1994). Suicide. In Pless, I. B. (ed.), The Epidemiology of Childhood Disorders (pp. 339–365). New York: Oxford University Press

Shaffer, D., Gould, M., and Hicks, R. (1994). Worsening suicide rate in Black teenagers. American Journal of Psychiatry, 151(12), 1810–1812CrossRef Google Scholar

Shaffer, D., Fisher, P., Hicks, R. H., Parides, M., and Gould, M. (1995). Sexual orientation in adolescents who commit suicide. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 25, 64–71Google Scholar

Shaffer, D., Gould, M. S., Fisher, P., Trautman, P., Moreau, D., Kleinman, M., and Flory, M. (1996). Psychiatric diagnosis in child and adolescent suicide. Archives of General Psychiatry, 53, 339–348Google Scholar

Shafii, M., Carrigan, S., Whittinghill, J. R., and Derrick, A., (1985). Psychological autopsy of completed suicide in children and adolescents. American Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 1061–1064Google Scholar

Smith, J. C., Mercy, J. A., and Warren, C. W., (1985). Comparison of suicides among Anglos and Hispanics in five Southwest states. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 15, 14–26CrossRef Google Scholar

Smith, K., and Crawford, S., (1986). Suicidal behavior among “normal” high school students. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 16, 313–325Google Scholar

Spirito, A., Brown, L., Overholser, J., and Fritz, G., (1989). Attempted suicide in adolescence: a review and critique of the literature. Clinical Psychology Review, 9, 335–363Google Scholar

Stack, S., (1989). The effect of publicized mass murder and murder-suicides on lethal violence. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 24, 202–208Google Scholar

Stack, S. A., (1990). A reanalysis of the impact of non-celebrity suicides: a research note. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 25, 269–273Google Scholar

Stack, S., (2000). Media impacts on suicide: a quantitative review of 293 findings. Social Science Quarterly, 81, 956–971Google Scholar

Sudman, S. and Bradburn, N. M. (1974). Response effects in surveys. Chicago, IL: Aldine Publishing Company

Swanson, J. W., Linskey, A. O., Quintero-Salinas, R., Pumariega, A. J., and Holzer, C. E. III, (1992). A binational school survey of depressive symptoms, dru. us., and suicidal ideation. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31, 669–678Google Scholar

Teicher, J. D., and Jacobs, J., (1966). Adolescents who attempt suicide. American Journal of Psychiatry, 122, 1248–1257Google Scholar

Turner, C. F., Lessler, J. T., and Devore, J. W. (1992). In Turner, C. F., Lessler, J. J., and Gfroerer, J. C. (eds.), Effects of Mode of Administration and Wording on Reporting of Drug Use (pp. 177–220). Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office

Velez, C. N., and Cohen, P., (1988). Suicidal behavior and ideation in a community sample of children: maternal and youth reports. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 27, 349–356Google Scholar

Velting, D. M., Rathus, J. H., and Asnis, G. M., (1998). Asking adolescents to explain discrepancies in self-reported suicidality. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 28, 187–196Google Scholar

Wallace, J. D., Calhoun, A. D., Powell, K. E., O'Neil, J., and James, S. P. (1996). Homicide and Suicide among Native Americans, 1979–1992. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Violence Surveillance Series, No. 2

Walter, H. J., Vaughan, R. D., Armstrong, B., Krakoff, R. Y., Maldonado, L. M., Tiezzi, L., and McCarthy, J. F., (1995). Sexual, assaultive, and suicidal behaviors among urban minority junior high school students. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 73–80Google Scholar

Wasserman, I. M., (1984). Imitation and suicide: a reexamination of the Werther effect. American Sociological Review, 49, 427–436Google Scholar

Weissman, M. M., Wickramaratne, P., Warner, V., John, K., Prusoff, B. A., Merikangas, K. R., and Gammon, G. D., (1987a). Assessing psychiatric disorders in children: discrepancies between mothers' and children's reports. Archives of General Psychiatry, 44(8), 747–753Google Scholar

Weissman, M. M., Gammon, G., Davis, J. K., Merikangas, K. R., Warner, V., Prusoff, B. A., and Sholomskas, D., (1987b). Children of depressed parents: increased psychopathology and early onset of major depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 44(10), 847–853Google Scholar

Weissman, M. M., Fendrich, M., Warner, V., and Wickramaratne, P., (1992). Incidence of psychiatric disorder in offspring at high and low risk for depression. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31, 640–648Google Scholar

Windle, M., Miller-Tutzauer, C., and Domenico, D., (1992). Alcohol use, suicida. behavio., and risky activities among adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 2, 317–330Google Scholar

World Health Organization. Suicide rates and absolute numbers of suicide by country (2001). Available at http://www3.who.int./whosis/whsa/ftp/download.htm [accessed 8 March 2001]

Book contents

1 - The epidemiology of youth suicide

Summary

Keywords

Access options

References

Save book to Kindle

Save book to Dropbox

Save book to Google Drive