Suicide Prevention Month Week 3

Stephanie Weatherly, DNP, PMH RN-BC, FACHE

Chief Clinical Officer

September 13, 2021

The month is almost half over, and we are making strides in our communities - way to go! Let's jump into this week's discussion points.

The highest rates of adolescent and young adult death by suicide happen amongst LGTBQ+ youth. According to the Trevor Project:

• LGB youth seriously contemplate suicide at almost three times the rate of heterosexual youth.
• LGB youth are almost five times as likely to have attempted suicide compared to heterosexual youth.
• Of all the suicide attempts made by youth, LGB youth suicide attempts were almost five times as likely to require medical treatment than heterosexual youth.
• Suicide attempts by LGB youth and questioning youth are 4 to 6 times more likely to result in injury, poisoning, or overdose that requires treatment from a doctor or nurse, compared to their straight peers.
• In a national study, 40% of transgender adults reported having made a suicide attempt. 92% of these individuals reported having attempted suicide before the age of 25.
• LGB youth who come from highly rejecting families are 8.4 times as likely to have attempted suicide as LGB peers who reported no or low levels of family rejection.
• 1 out of 6 students nationwide (grades 9–12) seriously considered suicide in the past year.
• Each episode of LGBT victimization, such as physical or verbal harassment or abuse, increases the likelihood of self-harming behavior by 2.5 times on average.

According to the NIH, death by suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults in the U.S. To address the need to reduce suicide deaths, researchers have focused their efforts on identifying treatments for those at high risk and learning more about the mechanisms that make treatments work best. A recent study showed that the emotional regulation achieved through dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) reduced their suicide risk. Read more about this encouraging data.

In addition to this work by the NIH, the Trevor Project conducts its own research and offers evidence-based solutions on their website:

According to the CDC in 2019:

• 12 million American adults seriously thought about suicide
• 3.5 million made a plan to commit suicide
• 1.4 million attempted suicide

The CDC has created a plan for suicide reduction in the United States and offers great resources for suicide prevention.

PsychHub has created lots of resources for suicide prevention for professionals. You can take classes, get infographics, downloadable guidebooks, and YouTube videos.

Thank you for all you do to increase awareness of suicide prevention!