Trends in Suicide and Suicidal Behaviors among Teens in the United States

Han Choi, Princeton University
Adriana Corredor-Waldron, NC State University
Janet Currie, Princeton University
Christopher Felton, Harvard University

Reports of suicide in children and teenagers in the United States have steadily increased over the past two decades. This paper explores how trends of suicidal behaviors, though predictive of suicide deaths, may not completely reflect trends of suicides and could be influenced by changes in reporting and screening. Using the National Emergency Department Sample Database, we analyze trends of suicidal ideation, self-harm, and suicide deaths among children aged 10 to 19 in the U.S. between 2006 and 2020. We investigate the rise in adolescent suicide-related hospital visits in two inflection points, in 2012 after the release of screening recommendations and in 2016 after changes in the diagnostic coding. Our findings echo prior results in New Jersey showing sharp increases in suicidal ideation ER visits, in 2012 and 2016, which we speculate are influenced by changes in reporting and screening practices. Meanwhile, we find a gradual rise of self-harm behaviors and a flat consistency of suicide deaths. These results allude to how trends of suicide-related behaviors may not reflect trends of suicide deaths. Nonetheless, changes in screening and coding may bring greater attention to widespread mental health issues.

Keywords: Health and Morbidity, Mortality and Longevity, Children, Adolescents, and Youth, Economic Demography

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