Footnotes
- Believing in Ourselves: The Wisdom of Women Copyright © 1992. Armand Eisen, Andrews and McMeel a University Press Syndicate Co.
- CD-ROM “Suicide,” Microsoft Encarta © 1994. Microsoft Corporation, contributed by Jack D. Douglas and Frank Allen Jones Jr.
- CD-ROM Mosby Medical Encyclopedia © 1995 and San Francisco Suicide Prevention Web page © 1996. http://www.sfsuicide.org.
- “Possible Warning Signs” and “Pitfalls: What to Avoid,” San Francisco Suicide Prevention Web page © 1996 http://www.sfsuicide.org.
- San Francisco Suicide Prevention Web page © 1996 http://www.sfsuicide.org.
Grim Statistics
According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . . .
- suicide took 31,284 Americans in 1995.
- more people die from suicide than from homicide in the United States.
- suicide is the ninth leading cause of death for all Americans and the third leading cause of death for young people aged 15-24.
- nearly 60% of all suicides are committed with a firearm.
- firearm-related suicides accounted for 96% of the increased suicide rate among black children and teenagers.
- in 1995, more than 90% of all suicides were among whites, with males accounting for 73% and females 18%.
- suicide among black youths 10-19 years, once uncommon, has increased sharply in recent years. From 1980-1995, 3,030 black youths committed suicide.
- black children 10-14 years and black teenagers 15-19 years have a greater suicide percentage increase than white children and teenagers.
- explanations for the increase in suicide rates among all youths include family breakdown, easier access to alcohol and illicit drugs, and easier lethal suicide methods.
Online Services
San Francisco Suicide Prevention – http://www.sfsuicide.org
- What You Can Do
- Suicide: Myth or Fact?
- Evaluating suicide risk, warning signs, and pitfalls
Suicide and Suicide Prevention – http://www.psycom.net/depression.central.suicide.html
- Program to prevent youth suicide
Gunfree – http://www.gunfree.org
- Firearms and suicide
Suicide @rochford.org – http://www.rochford.org/suicide/
- Information and education
- Warning signs
- Essays about suicide
- Related sites, research tips
Human Services (states coming soon): Youth Suicide Prevention Kit – http://www.infoxchange.net.au/dhs/youth/suicide/
- Youth suicide information and advice
Phone Contacts
Association Of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 800-826-2950
Grief Recovery Helpline 800-445-4808
United Way Information Referrals & Crisis Help Line 800-233-4357
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) HELPLINE 800-950-NAMI (6264)
National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association 800-826-DMDA (3632)
National Foundation for Depressive Illness (NAFDI) 800-248-4381