Adolescent suicide as a public health threat

Adolescent suicide patterns.

To raise awareness of the seriousness of adolescent suicidal behavior by reviewing international research on adolescent suicide and evaluating the prospects for identification and intervention.

Published literature.

Adolescent suicide research is complicated and often contradictory, but it does provide some insight into prevalence, risk factors, screening tools, and interventions. For completers, the problem may be intractable. But a few broad-based identification and prevention efforts show promise, and psychotherapy is a proven success. Even if suicide rates remain high, treatment of attempters should prevent further self-harm and reduce the completion rate, and thus should be funded.