Crime and Safety:
Youth/Parents/Schools > Youth Suicide Prevention Program > Characteristics of Those at Risk
Taken from a report "Suicidal Populations: Characteristics of Those At Risk 1991", by Dr. Alan Marks, Department of Gerontology and Social Work, University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Selected risk factors
- Previous suicide attempt
- Depression or feelings of hopelessness
- Negative interaction within the family
- Lack of affection, warmth and love
- Divorce or family disruption
- Homosexuality
- Physical, emotional or sexual abuse
- Psychiatric disorders
- Poor coping skills
- Unrealistic reality assessment skills
- Substance and/or alcohol abuse
Attempters and Completers:
Among adults the ratio of attempters to completers is 10:1. The ratio for youth may be as high as 100:1. More than half a million youth make a suicide attempt each year.
Completers:
80% of all suicides are committed by males. 85% of all youth suicides are committed by males. 78% and 86% of suicides among those 5-14 and 15-24, respectively, are done by males. The suicide rate among male youth is more than 5 times higher than the female rate.
Attempters:
Are more likely to be females. No government agency keeps records of attempted suicides and there is disagreement among professionals as to what constitutes a "real suicide attempt" as opposed to manipulative non-life threatening behavior.
Threats to commit suicide, suicide attempts, or acts of self-injury (whether life-threatening or not) must be taken as indicators of serious emotional difficulties. Professional help should be sought before the behavior escalates into something more serious.
Age:
Rates among youth have increased faster than for any other age group. The major problem of youth suicide is concentrated among males from 15-24 years of age. Among youth, those between 20-24 have the highest suicide rate.
Race:
Young whites have a 54% higher suicide rate than black youth. In 1991, among 15-24 year olds the rate for whites was 13.9 compared to 9.0 for blacks.
