Youth Suicide Rates Keep Going Up, CDC Finds

Suicide rates among young people have spiked more than 50% between 2007 and 2017, the CDC found.

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Youth suicide rates have spiked at an alarming rate over the last decade, according to a newly released CDC study.

A new study by the CDC shows that between 2007 and 2017, suicide among those ages 10 to 24 increased by 56%. Suicide deaths increased 7% annually from 2013 to 2017, compared with 3% annually between 2007 and 2013.

It also found that the homicide rate within the same age group had risen 23% between 2014 and 2017. Collectively, these causes of death are referred to as “violent deaths.” The study’s authors found the data from cause of death certificates for youth in the selected age range.

“The changes of a person in this age range dying by suicide is greater than homicide, when it used to be the reverse,” the report’s co-author of the report Sally Curtin explained. “When a leading cause of death among our youth is increasing, it behooves all of us to pay attention and figure out what’s going on.”

The U.S. suicide rate increased roughly 30% between 1999 and 2016 regardless of age and ethnicity. The CDC attributed that increase to mental illness, substance use, financial hardship, and relationship problems. But researchers haven’t identified an exact cause behind this increase in adolescent suicide and homicide—and many factors could be involved.

Zucker Hillside Hospital’s Dr. Victor Fornari said that one suspected cause is the increasing level of anger and aggression in American society.

"Society as a whole has become more polarized, angrier, less tolerant," he told CBS. "There's more scapegoating. Emotions are running very high, and society as a whole is becoming a bit angry. We see that in the overt aggression that's manifested by the increased rates of homicide."

He also theorized that stressful circumstances at home could also be a factor.

"As family problems accumulate, the stress is imparted to the kids as well," he said. "The environment at home becomes toxic with fear and stress and anger, and these kids are having a very hard time coping."

If you or someone you know is struggling, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

Related: Talinda Bennington, the wife of late Lincoln Park frontman Chester Bennington who took his own life in 2017, created a mental health resource called 320 Changes Direction. The campaign spreads awareness around mental health issues. Learn more about her below.