Suicidal Thoughts Common Among U.S. Students
Psychologist Dr. David J. Drum and colleagues from the University of Texas recently analyzed data from a 2006 survey of U.S. college students, with sobering results. Suicidal thoughts among these students were a lot more common than previously thought. More than half of the participants reported thinking about suicide at least once in their lives.
Survey Statistics
- The web-based survey was conducted by the National Research Consortium of Counseling Centers in Higher Education in the Spring of 2006.
- Over 26,000 students from 70 colleges and universities participated. Of those students, 15,010 were undergraduates, 11,441 were graduate students.
- Schools: ranged from 820 to over 58,000 students, with the average being around 17,500.
- Average Student Age: 22 for undergraduates, 30 for graduates
- Female: 62% of undergraduates, 60% of the graduates
- White: 79% of undergraduates, 72% of the graduates
- Gay, Bisexual, or "Undecided" Sexuality: 5% of undergraduates, 6% of graduates
Survey Data Analysis
- Frequency: Of those who think about suicide, 2/3 have episodes of suicidal thinking more than once per year
- Duration: Most described these episodes as brief and intense, with half lasting a day or less.
- Secrecy: Less than half of those who experienced an episode of suicidal thinking told someone or sought professional help.
- Seriously Considered Suicide in the ;ast 12 months: 6% of undergraduates, 4 percent of graduates. Of these, 14% of undergraduates and 8% of graduates actually attempted suicide.
- Required Medical Attention: Of those who had attempted suicide, 19% of undergraduates and 28% of graduates needed medical attention. Half attempted suicide with a drug overdose.
- Reasons Given for Suicidal Thinking, in order of popularity: 1) Wanting relief from emotional or physical pain, 2) Problems with relationships, 3) Desire to end their lives, 4) Academic and school problems. This order was the same for both graduates and undergraduates.
Recommendations for Suicide Prevention
According to Dr. Drum and colleagues, current treatment models do not do enough to reduce suicidal episodes. Students need to be helped before they reach crisis point. They recommended a new model that allows for interventions at different points along a continuum of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. In this way, we can hopefully stop more students from progressing from suicidal thoughts to suicide attempts.
Suicide prevention requires involvement from everyone, including administrators and faculty, counselors, parents, and students. According to Dr. Drum, the more people we can involve, the more we can "reduce the percentage of students who engage in suicidal thinking, who contemplate how to make an attempt, and who continue to make attempts."