Trends of Suicidal Behaviors Among High School Students in the United States: 1991–2017
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OBJECTIVES: To determine if racial and ethnic subgroups of adolescents are at high risk for engagement in suicidal behaviors. METHODS: Using the nationally representative school-based Youth Risk Behavior Survey from the years 1991 to 2017, we conducted logistic regression analyses to examine trends by different racial and ethnic groups, with each suicide indicator serving as a dichotomous outcome. Participants included 198 540 high school students. RESULTS: Across all sex and race and ethnic groups, there were significant linear decreases in self-reported suicidal ideation and suicide plans from 1991 to 2017. Female adolescents (odds ratio [OR], 0.98; P < .001) had significant decreases in attempts over time. Black adolescents had positive linear trends for suicide attempts among both boys (OR, 1.04; P < .001) and girls (OR, 1.02; P = .003). Black adolescent boys (OR, 1.04; P = .048) had a significant linear increase in injury by attempt. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that, over time, black youth have experienced an increase in suicide attempts, which is troubling because attempts are the most prominent risk factor associated with suicide death. For black boys, a significant increase in injury by attempt occurred, which suggests that black boys may be engaging in increasingly lethal means when attempting suicide. Examining trends of suicidal thoughts and behaviors over time by sex and race and ethnicity allow us to determine where to focus prevention and intervention efforts. Future research should examine the underlying reasons for these changes observed in US high school students.
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Rates of suicidal behaviors have disproportionately increased among youth of color during the past two decades.
“Rates of suicidal behaviors, the most reliable indicator of suicide risk, have also disproportionately increased among youth of color during the past two decades (16, 17)”
From Structural Racism and Suicide Prevention for Ethnoracially Minoritized Youth: A Conceptual Framework and Illustration Across Systems (2022) · cites this paper as [17]
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- Authors
- Lindsey, M. A., Sheftall, A. H., Xiao, Y., & Joe, S.
- Affiliations
- New York University (US)
- Nationwide Children's Hospital (US)
- Washington University in St. Louis (US)
- Venue
- Pediatrics
- Publisher
- American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
- Published
- 2019-11-01
- Volume
- 144
- Issue
- 5
- ISSN
- 0031-4005 (ISSN-L)
- 1098-4275
- PMC
- PMC7299440
- OpenAlex
- W2979737847
- Cited by
- 416
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 23 · 2025: 78 · 2024: 54 · 2023: 73 · 2022: 79 · 2021: 83 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 54.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- PEDIATRICS (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (R21MH116206)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Injury Epidemiology and Prevention
- Keywords
- suicidal behavior, adolescents, high school students, suicidal ideation, suicide planning, suicide attempts, racial and ethnic disparities, Black adolescents, sex differences, suicide prevention
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Black or African American, Child, Female, Humans, Male, Sex Factors, Suicide, Attempted, United States, Logistic Models, Young Adult, Suicidal Ideation
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