American children who have thoughts of committing suicide seem to be considering it at a much earlier age than previously assumed. According to a new study published in the November issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, almost 40% of US children who attempt suicide do so before they reach high school.
Suicidal thoughts and behaviours appear to be planned as early as elementary school (ages 5 to 11). Researchers at the University of Washington surveyed 883 young adults aged 18 or 19 about whether they had any history of suicide attempts. And 78 of the respondents - nearly 9% - claimed to have attempted suicide at some point.
The rates of suicide attempts sharply increased at age 12, around sixth grade in the United States, with 39 respondents reporting multiple attempts of suicide dating back to the age of 9 – third-grade. Those who had only one suicide attempt were more likely to have tried in high school. The highest rates, however, were around eighth or ninth grade in which attempts sharply peaked. This suggested to researchers that the attempts of suicide in children were directly associated with elevated depression scores at that phase.
Although the research was limited to a specific group, by showing how a major proportion of the surveyed children who attempt suicide did so at a younger age than previously thought, the results nevertheless raise questions about when preventive efforts should be taken.
James Mazza, lead author of the study and a professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington, explains that it is usually assumed that children who attempt suicide were already in high school.
“All high schools are supposed to have suicide prevention programs, but this suggests to us that assessing children’s mental health in younger years is advisable,” says Mazza. “We’re likely not giving children enough credence in assessing their own mental health, and this study shows that we can rely on self-report measures to help identify youth who may be at risk for current mental health concerns, including possible suicidal behaviour.”
These findings suggest that children in the U.S. do not have the ability to tell adults that they are not doing well, explains Mazza, which is why it is important for mental health programmes to be implemented in earlier ages.