By Robin Postell
Suicide is currently second leading cause of death in youth ages 10-24, resulting in nearly 5,000 deaths. For ages 10-14, there has been an alarming increase of more than 150 percent in suicides since 1981 making it the third leading cause of death for that age group.
The GBI’s Child Fatality Review Unit show 23 children under the age of 18 have killed themselves in Georgia in 2018. In the past year, Georgia hospitals have admitted more than 1,000 children for suicide-related causes. Since 2007, Lowndes county alone has had 22 reported youth suicides, according to stats from the Georgia Family Connection Partnership. More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease combined. Each day in the U.S., there are an average of over 3041 attempts by high school age students. If these percentages included grades middle school, the numbers would be higher.
Four out of five teens who attempt suicide have given clear warning signs. According to the CDC, deaths from youth suicide are only part of the problem. More young people survive suicide attempts than actually die. A nationwide survey of high school students in the United States found that 16 percent of students reported seriously considering suicide, 13 percent reported creating a plan, and 8 percent reporting trying to take their own life in the 12 months preceding the survey. Each year, approximately 157,000 youth between the ages of 10 and 24 are treated Emergency Departments across the U.S. for self-inflicted injuries.
