Indicator: 9 - Youth Suicide Attempts

 

Why This Is Important

Suicide is a 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 and 2003 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. The percentage who reported considering
suicide dropped slightly from previous years, as did the percentage who made a plan for how they
would kill themselves, or who had medical treatment for a condition resulting from a suicide
attempt. While males and females reported similar rates of injuries requiring medical attention in
2003, girls were more likely than boys to report that they considered suicide (22% versus 12%),
that they had developed a suicide plan (18% versus 12%), or that they had attempted suicide at
least once (12% versus 5%).

 

 

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/dash/yrbs.

*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, 2001 and 2003.