Suicide rates among younger individuals ranging from children to young adults have risen by over 50 percent between 2007 and 2018, according to a new report from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
The data was collected from death certificates of individuals ages 10 to 24 citing suicide from all 50 states across the United States, as well as from the District of Columbia, ranging from the year 2000 all the way up to 2018. In addition, the percentage change was also recorded from the three-year averages of two different time frames—2007 to 2009 and 2016 to 2018—for all 50 states excluding the District of Columbia.
Furthermore, the data indicated that when comparing two three-year averages—2007 to 2009 and 2016 to 2018—the suicide rate had significantly increased in 42 of the country's 50 states.
"The 2016–2018 suicide rate among persons aged 10–24 was highest for Alaska (31.4 per 100,000)," the report read.
"Other states with among the highest suicide rates were South Dakota (23.6), Montana (23.2), Wyoming (20.5), and New Mexico (19.6). The lowest suicide rates were among states in the Northeast: New Jersey (5.7), Rhode Island (5.9), New York (5.9), Connecticut (6.3), and Massachusetts (6.4).”
She added that children aren’t exempt from experiencing stressors such as anxiety and unrest.