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Youth Who Attempted Suicide in the Past Year by Year, Grades 9-12, New Mexico and U.S., 2001 to 2019

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Why Is This Important?

In NM in 2019, suicide was the leading cause of death for youth between the ages of 12 and 18. In the U.S. in 2019, according to the CDC, suicide was the second leading cause of death for this same age group. While girls are more likely than boys to attempt suicide, boys are more likely to die of suicide. A previous suicide attempt is among the strongest risk factors for completed suicide.

In 2017, the prevalence of past year suicide attempt was significantly higher in New Mexico (9.9%) compared to the U.S. (7.4%). The prevalence of past year suicide attempts among NM high school students decreased significantly in 2007 from 14.3% and has remained relatively stable since then. The US prevalence has remained relatively stable since 2009.

Definition

Percentage of students grades 9-12 in a NM public school who reported attempting suicide at least one time, in the past 12 months. The NM Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey (YRRS) is administered in odd years and is part of the national Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), which is coordinated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Each state, territorial, tribal, and large urban school district participating in YRBS employs a two-stage, cluster sample design to produce a representative sample of students in grades 9-12 in its jurisdiction. In the first sampling stage, in all except a few sites, schools are selected with probability proportional to school enrollment size. In the second sampling stage, intact classes of a required subject or intact classes during a required period (e.g., second period) are selected randomly. All students in sampled classes are eligible to participate. A weight is applied to each student record to adjust for student nonresponse and the distribution of students by grade, sex, and race/ethnicity in each jurisdiction.

Data Sources

  • U.S. data source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data
    (https://nccd.cdc.gov/Youthonline)
  • New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey, New Mexico Department of Health and Public Education Department.

How the Measure is Calculated

Numerator:Number of students who answered, "1 time", "2 or 3 times", "4 or 5 times", or "6 or more times", to the question, "During the past 12 months, how many times did you actually attempt suicide?"
Denominator:Total number of respondents who answered the question, "During the past 12 months, how many times did you actually attempt suicide?"

Health Topic Pages Related to: Mental Health - Youth Attempted Suicide

Community Health Resources and Links





Medical literature can be queried at the PubMed website.

Indicator Data Last Updated On 03/05/2021, Published on 03/28/2022
Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey, Survey Section, Epidemiology and Response Division, New Mexico Department of Health and Coordinated School Health & Wellness Bureau, NM Public Education Department. Contact NMDOH, 1190 S. Saint Francis Drive, P.O. Box 26110, Santa Fe, NM, 87502. Telephone: (505) 476-1779.