Evaluation of Suicides Among US Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

We thank Jodee McDaniel, MS, Ohio State University, for her support in editing and reformatting this manuscript during the submission process. She was not compensated for her contributions.

Suicide spectrum among young people during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…1 , 47 studies were included in the systematic review (study characteristics are reported in Table 1 ). 32 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 Among these studies, 43 were included in the meta-analytical process, for a total of around 65 million subjects (suicides: 63,120,235; suicidal behaviors: 934,951; suicidal ideation: 156,234): two reporting rates of deaths for suicides, 48 , 50 26 reporting prevalence data about suicidal behaviors 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 <...…”

LGBTQ+ Students’ Peer Victimization and Mental Health before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…For adolescent girls, emergency visits related to suicide were up by 50%. Yet, Charpignon et al’s [ 39 ] assessment of suicide counts from 14 state health departments describes the difference in suicide rates across states. Although most states reported increases in adolescent suicides, several states reported decreases in suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…Exposure to identity-based stigma, victimization, or discrimination puts LGBTQ+ students at greater risk than their cisgender and heterosexual peers of experiencing poor academic achievement and mental health problems [ 11 , 12 , 20 , 32 , 38 ]. Several pre-pandemic studies suggest suicide attempts among the general U.S. population has remained relatively unchanged in the last decade [ 39 , 40 , 41 ], although the rates among adolescents have increased according to the Centers for Disease Control [ 39 , 42 , 43 , 44 ]. Although suicide rates have been decreasing among LGB youth, Raifman et al [ 45 ] indicate that LGB youth remain 3 times more likely to attempt suicide.…”

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic and Mental Health-Related School-Nurse Visits in United States Schools

“…The U.S. has witnessed a pediatric mental health (MH) crisis, with up to 20% of children experiencing a diagnosable MH-condition, 1 and COVID-19 exacerbating a perfect storm as stressors to youth have markedly increased during the current pandemic, 2,3 exposing deficiencies in our pediatric MH-care system. Schools play a critical role as the most common point of entry for accessing MH-services to children.…”