Indicator: 9 - Youth Suicide Attempts

Why This Is Important

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among Maine youth ages 15-24; approximately 25 to 30 young people commit suicide in Maine each year. For every youth suicide, there are an estimated 20 suicide attempts. Although there is no typical profile of a suicidal youth, youth most at risk struggle with emotional or behavioral difficulties such as depression, conduct disorders, substance abuse, and ultra-perfectionistic or rigid behavior patterns. Suicide attempts indicate increased risk for suicide completion, as well as other severe behavioral health problems in the population.

Where We Stand

The Maine Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) in 2001 found that about 9% of Maine youth in grades 9-12 reported making at least one suicide attempt in the previous year, up very slightly from the pattern in the previous surveys. While the percentage who reported considering suicide dropped slightly from previous years, the percentage who actually made a plan for how they would kill themselves, or who had medical treatment for a condition resulting from a suicide attempt, rose slightly. While males and females reported similar rates of injuries requiring medical attention in 2001, girls were more likely than boys to report that they considered suicide (25% versus 13%), that they had developed a suicide plan (20% versus 13%), or that they had attempted suicide at least once (12% versus 7%).

Data Sources and Context

This information comes from the Maine Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), Maine Department of Education. The data source is the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System maintained by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Data from the Maine YRBS is available on-line at http://www.mainecshp.com/survey.html. National YRBS figures can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/yrbs/index.htm.

*Important Note: YRBS data is gathered every two years using a questionnaire administered to a sample of students in Maine and nationally. When the Maine YRBS survey has an overall response rate of 60% or higher, the CDC statistically weights the results so that the numbers can be generalized to all public school students in the state in grades 9-12. When the overall response rate is below 60%, the CDC does not perform such statistical weighting, and the data apply only to the students who actually filled out the questionnaires. Maine's YRBS data for 1993 and 1999 was unweighted, so information from those years cannot be compared reliably with data from 1995, 1997 and 2001.