Suicide Rates Among TAY See Largest Increase After A Decade of Significant Decline

After over a decade of decline in the suicide rate among adolescents and young adults, a 28.5% decrease between 1990 and 2003, we experienced the largest one year increase in suicides in 2004 since 1993. Between 2003 and 2004 an 8% increase in the suicide rate among 10-24 year olds made it the third leading cause of death for this age group. In 2005 (the most recent year for which the CDC has data available), we saw a modest decrease of 2.5%.

The largest increase in the total number of suicide-related deaths was for adolescents ages 15-19 but the largest rate increase was for females ages 10-14; an increase of 76%.

Many people have suggested that the increased use of antidepressants could have something to do with the increase since it was discovered that the use of antidepressant drugs could increase the chances of suicidal thoughts or actions in children and teenagers. But Psychiatrists believe that the “black-box” warning labels required on all antidepressants by the FDA in 2004, scared many people away from effective forms of treatment and may have been the more probable explanation for the increased number of suicides in recent years.

As much as it is important to understand the reasons for the increase in suicides, it is more important for friends and family members to recognize the warning signs. Friends and families should look for changes in youth such as talking about taking one's life, feeling sad or hopeless about the future. It is also important to be aware of changes in eating or sleeping habits and even losing the desire to take part in favorite activities. If you do notice these warning signs, be there for the person by helping them to seek help with someone the person trusts.

A way to help stop suicides is to help reduce the stigma associated with mental illness and depression. The more people are willing to talk about mental health, the more we can help curb this devastating loss of life.

Click on the links below to read more about the research findings. To find out more about where you an go for help, visit our website www.ca-yen.org, or www.mhac.org

Get Involved to be a Part of the Solution!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20620477/

http://www.sacbee.com/livinghere/story/1301905.html

http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcaus10.html

Correlation Between Parents/Guardians Response to Sexual Orientation and Mental Health Outcomes

In shocking news, researchers at San Francisco State University have found that young gay people whose parents or guardians respond negatively when they revealed their sexual orientation were more likely to attempt suicide, experience severe depression, and use drugs than TAY whose parents accepted the news.

Although the results of the study may seem obvious, the study was the first to establish a scientific link between the mental health problems of gay youth and their home environments. The study, conducted by the San Francisco State Family Acceptance Project, found that teens from families that reacted negatively to their coming-out were more than eight times as likely to have attempted suicide, nearly six times as vulnerable to severe depression and more than three times at risk of drug abuse than gay teens with more accepting families. More information on the study is available on the Family Acceptance Website.
[http://familyproject.sfsu.edu/]

Marissa Minna Lee
CAYEN Steering Committee