Juvenile males were more likely to commit suicide than juvenile females

Between 1981 and 1998, boys ages 7–17 were more than three times as likely as girls of the same age group to commit suicide in the U.S. (16,282 boys versus 4,493 girls). The age profiles of males and females who committed suicide were very similar: 10% of males and 6% of females were younger than age 13, whereas 66% of males and 62% of females were 17 years old.

For every 1 million youth ages 7–17, 29 juveniles committed suicide in the U.S. annually between 1981 and 1998. The annual suicide rate for youth ages 7–17 peaked in 1988 at 34 per 1 million, with the rate for males at 50 per 1 million and the rate for females at 17 per 1 million in that year. Between 1981 and 1988, the rates for both males and females increased 49%. After 1988, the rate for females fell more sharply than the rate for males; by 1998, the female rate was 7% higher than its 1981 level, while the rate for males was still 23% higher than its 1981 level. In 1998, the suicide rate for males ages 7–17 was 41 per 1 million, compared with the female rate of 12 per 1 million.

The manner in which juvenile girls committed suicide differed from that of boys. Girls were more likely to use poison (25% of girls versus 6% of boys), while boys were more likely to use a firearm (65% of boys versus 51% of girls). Similar proportions of girls and boys committed suicide by suffocating themselves (26% of boys and 20% of girls).

Between 1981 and 1998, the annual suicide rate for white males ages 7–17 was greater than that for black males The juvenile suicide rate for black males increased 240% between 1981 and 1994, while the rate for white males increased 40%. The rates for white males and black males were more similar in 1994 than at any other point in the period. In 1998, the juvenile suicide rate for white males was 66% greater than the rate for black males, while the rate for white females was 88% greater than the rate for black females. Black female suicide rates for approximately half of the years are based on 20 or fewer reported suicides, so the line graph for black females is not displayed. Data source: NVSS, compiled by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. Population data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. [See Data source notes for detail.]

After age 12, suicide rates for white juveniles and black juveniles diverge Over the 1981–98 period, the annual average suicide rate for 12-year-olds was essentially equal for white youth and black youth, within gender groups. In contrast, among 17-year-olds, the average annual suicide rate for white males was more than 8 times the rate for black females, more than 4 times the rate for white females, and two-thirds greater than the rate for black males. Suicide rates for some gender/race groups of youth younger than age 12 are based on 20 or fewer reported suicides, so they are not displayed. Data source: NVSS, compiled by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. Population data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. [See Data source notes for detail.]

Juvenile Suicides, 1981–1998	Youth Violence Research Bulletin • March 2004