birth rates) and economy (unemployment rate) predicted youth suicide rates more successfully than they did adult suicide rates. In the United States for the same period, there was less variation in the predictors of suicide by age.
Proctor and Groze (1994) state that another group that may be at high risk for adolescent suicide is gay, lesbian and bisexual youth. This claim is based on their study of 221 self-identified gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths (mean age 18.5 years) who attended youth groups across both the United States and Canada.
Young people were given the Adolescent Health Questionnaire, which assessed family issues, social environment, and self-perceptions. Findings of the study indicated that 40.3 percent of the teens had attempted suicide, and 25.8 percent had seriously considered suicide.
The 33.9 percent of young people who had neither made a suicide attempt nor thought about it possessed internal and external qualities that enabled them to cope well in the face of discrimination, loneliness, and isolation. Teens with higher-functioning support systems were able to use those systems instead of considering suicide.
Several studies have attempted to determine psychosocial causes and correlates of adolescent suicide. One psychosocial factor that has been repeated associated with adolescent suicide is depression. In this regard, Pagliaro reports that depression was the most frequently reported risk factor in adolescent suicide from 1990 to 1995.
Noting that clinical interview is the best available method for assessment of suicide risk, Pagliaro recommends that school teachers, counselors and/or psychologists working with student groups to begin to identify teens as at risk by conducting interviews with them in which they look for clues to depression. Pagliaro also recommends that a complete evaluation for additional risk factors be conducted and that teachers, counselors and psychologis...