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Youth Who Made a Suicide Plan in the Past Year by Year, Grades 9-12, New Mexico and U.S., 2003 to 2019

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Why Is This Important?

Suicidal ideation refers to thoughts of suicide, including making a plan, and is a risk factor for suicide or attempted suicide. Suicide rates in NM have been at least twice the national rate since at least 1995. Because of the disproportionate rate of suicide occurring in New Mexico for decades and the rising rate of suicide nationwide, understanding the prevalence of risk factors for suicide and the disparities in the New Mexico population is critical for prevention planning. Prior suicide attempts have been shown to be the strongest risk factor for suicide, and more than half of suicide attempts occur within one year of the onset of suicide ideation. Based on this knowledge of suicidal behavior, the World Health Organization and the United States Office of the Surgeon General have recommended routine surveillance for suicidal behavior such as attempts and ideation. In doing so, suicide prevention plans can be specifically targeted to communities with high risk and evaluated more thoroughly.

Since 2009, the prevalence of youth who made a suicide plan during the past year has been rising slightly in both NM and the U.S. In 2017, the prevalence in NM (15.5%) rose slightly, while the U.S. prevalence (13.6%) dropped slightly from the 2015 survey administration.

Definition

Percentage of students grades 9-12 in a NM public school who reported making a suicide plan 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 "Yes" to the question, "During the past 12 months, did you make a plan about how you would attempt suicide?"
Denominator:Total number of respondents who answered the question, "During the past 12 months, did you make a plan about how you would attempt suicide?"

Health Topic Pages Related to: Mental Health - Youth Who Made a Suicide Plan

Community Health Resources and Links





Medical literature can be queried at the PubMed website.

Indicator Data Last Updated On 03/05/2021, Published on 05/09/2022
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.