The Gospel of Josh - Facts About Youth Suicide

In 2005, suicide ranked as the 3rd leading cause of death for young people (ages 15-19 and 15-24); only accidents and homicides occurred more frequently.

Every 2 hours and 11 minutes, a person under the age of 25 completes suicide.

It is estimated that there are more than 1,000 suicides on college campuses per year.

One in 12 college students have made a suicide plan.

In 2000, the American College Health Association surveyed 16,000 college students from 28 college
campuses.

9.5% of students had seriously contemplated suicide.

1.5% have made a suicide attempt.

In the twelve month period prior to the survey, half of the sample reported feeling very sad, one third
reported feeling hopeless and 22% reported feeling so depressed as to not be able to function.

Of the 16,000 students surveyed, only 6.2% of males and 12.8% of females reported a diagnosis of
depression. Therefore, there are a large number of students who are not receiving adequate treatment
and/or who remain undiagnosed.

Of the students who had seriously considered suicide, 94.8% reported feeling so sad to the point of
not functioning at least once in the past year, and 94.4% reported feelings of hopelessness.

Resources providing these statistics:

National Institute on Mental Health
American Association of Suicidology
National Mental Health Association
The Jed Foundation

Resources

Free Suicide Prevention
E-Resource book

Facts About Youth Suicide

GATJ College Facilitator Guide