The most recent national data from 2002 indicates that suicide was the third leading cause of death among young people 15-24 years of age.  In 2002, 1,773 children committed suicide in the U.S., including 260 children aged 10-14 and 1,513 teens aged 15-19. Males are much more likely to successfully commit suicide than females (by a five to one ratio), but females make more suicide attempts.  Suicide is still mostly a significant problem among white adolescents, but between 1980 and 1996, the rate of suicide among black males ages 15-19 years increased 105%.  Almost 100% of the increase in this group was attributable to the use of firearms.

The use of firearms is the most common method of suicide by youth.  This holds true for males and females, younger and older adolescents and for all races.  Guns in the home, particularly loaded guns, are associated with increased risk for suicide, both with and without identifiable mental health problems or suicidal risk factors. Public policy initiatives that restrict access to guns are associated with a reduction of firearm suicide and suicide overall, especially among youth.

Youth suicide is a complex, multi-dimensional issue that is difficult to understand.  Many suicides are believed to be an interaction of one or more factors: substance abuse; impulsive, aggressive and antisocial behavior; family influences, including a history of violence and family disruption; severe stress in school or social life; mental illness and rapid  sociocultural change.  Many youths sociocultural change.  Many youths are especially vulnerable to a phenomenon unique to teens known as cluster suicides. Teens may enter into suicide pacts with their peers or attempt suicide following a suicide death of a peer.

here are a number of protective factors that can help prevent suicide.  These include: effective clinical care; easy access to care; restricted access to highly lethal methods of suicide; family and community support; learned skills in problem solving and conflict resolution; support from ongoing medical and mental health care professionals and cultural beliefs that discourage suicide and support self-preservation instincts.  Cluster suicides can be prevented by recognizing teens at risk, providing intensive services and surveillance of the teens and avoiding extensive media coverage of the first suicide.

In 1999, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a landmark report entitled, The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent Suicide, which lays out a plan for reducing suicide in the United States.  The plan, known as A.I.M., describes three steps necessary to prevent suicides: 

1) Awareness to promote the public’s understanding of suicide and its risk factors, 

2) Interventions that enhance services and programs and 

3) Methodologies to advance the science of suicide prevention. 

In 2003, a multi-disciplinary group of Michigan professionals and citizens convened to discuss the possibility of the development of a state suicide prevention plan, as recommended by the Surgeon General in his Call to Action. During the year 2004, the group met monthly to work on the plan. In January 2005, the plan was finalized and work began on the development of a logic model for the plan.  This logic model will help in the implementation of the plan into the communities of Michigan.  As soon as the plan is approved by the Director of the Michigan Department of Community Health, it will be printed and distributed throughout the state.  It is hoped that the communities of Michigan will be able to use the plan to begin new efforts of assist in existing efforts to reduce the number of suicides that occur.