Article archive / September 2021
Originally published: . Volume 12, No. 9. Source pages: 1, 4.
According to a report from the CDC, suspected suicide attempts by teenage girls have increased by 51% during the COVID pandemic.
During the 2020 pandemic, emergency room (ER) visits for suspected suicide attempts began to increase among adolescents aged 12–17 years, especially among the girls.
The CDC collected data during February and March, 2021, and found that suspected suicide attempt ER visits were 50.6% higher among girls aged 12–17 years than during the same period in 2019. Among boys aged 12–17 years, suspected suicide attempt ER visits increased 3.7%.
The findings are based on data for ER visits for suspected suicide from the National Syndromic Surveillance Program, which includes about 71% of the nation's emergency rooms in 49 states.
Earlier data reported by the CDC showed that the proportion of mental health-related ER visits among children and adolescents aged 12 to 17 years had increased by 31% during 2020 compared with 2019.
The results of the most recent study were published in the June 11 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
"Young persons might represent a group at high risk because they might have been particularly affected by mitigation measures, such as physical distancing (including a lack of connectedness to schools, teachers, and peers); barriers to mental health treatment; increases in substance use; and anxiety about family health and economic problems, which are all risk factors for suicide," the authors said.
The findings also suggest there has been "more severe distress among young females than has been identified in previous reports during the pandemic, reinforcing the need for increased attention to, and prevention for, this population," the CDC authors wrote.
These new findings underscore the "enormous impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on our country's overall emotional wellbeing, especially among young people,” the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (Action Alliance) said in a statement.
"… the findings from this study suggest more severe distress among young females than has been identified in previous reports during the pandemic, reinforcing the need for increased attention to, and prevention for, this population."
Dr. Blauvelt, licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in Baton Rouge, said, "Researchers have proposed many hypotheses for the increase in suicide ideation and attempts among adolescents: social media use, increasing social isolation, academic pressure, suicide contagion, and mental health problems. There is no easy to understand reason for the increase, but there are many things we can do to respond to this epidemic."
Dr. Blauvelt serves as the project director for The Fisher Project, a statewide suicide prevention program funded by a COVID-19 Emergency Response to Suicide Prevention SAHMSA grant. In this role she provides clinical supervision to peer support specialists, monitors adherence to evidence-based program protocols, and intervenes in emergency situations.
"Talking openly about suicide with adolescents can be a powerful intervention," said Dr. Blauvelt, "and it does not need to be done by a licensed mental health professional. Programs like Talk Saves Lives and SafeTALK teach people to recognize warning signs of suicide, to engage a person who is having thoughts of suicide, and to help connect them with appropriate resources. Just listening is a powerful first step in suicide prevention."
"Many teens who die by suicide have never participated in mental health services. […] There is a lack of mental health staff in schools, and a lack of training for school staff to essentially be gatekeepers when they encounter students displaying warning signs for suicide."
"There is elevated risk for Black, LGTBQ, and trans youth. These populations experience trauma, violence, and discrimination in excess of other populations." She also explained, "… restricting access to lethal means prevents suicide. Teens who live in a home with a firearm are significantly more likely to die by suicide. Research consistently shows that firearms are implicated in more suicides than homicides each year. In Louisiana, there is a gun ownership rate of about 53%."
Dr. Blauvelt earned her PhD is from Louisiana State University. The Louisiana Psychological Association named her for its Psychology in the Public Interest award.
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