Suicide Trends Among Elementary School–Aged Children in the United States From 1993 to 2012

Abstract

IMPORTANCE Suicide is a leading cause of death among school-aged children younger than 12 years but little is known about the epidemiology of suicide in this age group. OBJECTIVE To describe trends in suicide among US children younger than 12 years by sociodemographic group and method of death. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Period trend analysis of national mortality data on suicide in children aged 5 to 11 years in the

Suicide in Elementary School-Aged Children and Early Adolescents

“…4 Also, research has shown that black youth are less likely to receive services for depression, suicidal ideation, and other mental health problems compared with non-black youth. 3 by guest on March 23, 2019 www.aappublications.org/news Downloaded from racial disparities in precipitating circumstances within age group were examined in the current study, few differences were found. Suicide by hanging/strangulation/suffocation was more common among black decedents in both age groups, and black early adolescents who died by suicide were less likely to experience boyfriend/girlfriend problems or leave a suicide note than non-black youth.…”

“…2 While our understanding of suicide in children remains limited, a recent analysis of suicide trends in US children (ages 5-11 years between 1993-1997 and 2008-2012) found a significant increase in the suicide rate among black children and a significant decrease for white children. 3 Given consistent observations that suicide rates for adolescents and young adults are higher in white subjects than in black subjects, 1, 4 -8 this report of a higher rate of suicide in elementary schoolaged black children raises questions about whether there are important racial and developmental differences in the underpinnings of suicide between elementary school-aged children and older youth.…”

“…These results are in keeping with our previous report that 36.1% of all suicide deaths in 5-to 11-year-olds between 2003 and 2012 occurred in black children, nearly double the rate reported in the same demographic group between 1993 and 2002 (18.6%). 3 We were especially interested in examining potential racial differences in precipitating circumstances given that black youth may experience disproportionate exposure to violence or traumatic stressors, 31 -33 both of which have been associated with suicidal behavior. 4 Also, research has shown that black youth are less likely to receive services for depression, suicidal ideation, and other mental health problems compared with non-black youth.…”

“…Important next steps will be to investigate potential factors (eg, mental health, cultural, environmental) that may have contributed to the recent increase in suicide rates among black elementary school-aged children 3 and identify overall and race-specific predictors of suicide in children younger than 12 years.…”

Reimagining Social and Emotional Development: Accommodation and Resistance to Dominant Ideologies in the Identities and Friendships of Boys of Color

“…In a culture that maintains a patriarchal ideology that devalues intimate friendship by assigning it a devalued and demeaned sex (female) and sexuality (gay), the boys revealed signs of "maturing" into men who are autonomous, emotionally stoic, and isolated. The ages from 16 to 19 were not only a period of disconnection for the boys in Way's studies, it is also a period in development in which the suicide rate for boys across the USA rises dramatically [Bridge et al, 2015]. Just as the boys during early and middle adolescence predicted, giving up their closest male friendships in the name of not wanting to appear gay (e.g., "no homo") or girly makes them go "wacko.…”