Purpose: To examine trends and racial and ethnic disparities in early adolescent suicidal thoughts and behaviors in the years immediately prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: This study used pooled data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's middle school Youth Risk Behavior Survey (n = 127,912) between 2015 and 2019. Three dichotomized measures of suicide-related behaviors were assessed: suicidal thoughts, planning, and attempts. Weighted prevalence estimates with 95% confidence intervals were calculated for each survey year. Linear trends examined disparities in the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, overall and by student demographic characteristics. Main effects odds ratios compared estimates among racial and ethnic minority adolescents with non-Hispanic White students, controlling for sex and grade.
Results: Significant linear increases were observed for the percentage of middle school students who reported seriously thinking about suicide (18.2%-22.3%), ever making a suicide plan (11.8%-14.7%), and ever attempting suicide (6.9%-9.3%). Racial and ethnic minority students, other than non-Hispanic Asian, showed higher odds of suicidal thoughts and behaviors compared with non-Hispanic White students.
Discussion: Findings indicate a need for comprehensive suicide prevention to address health equity and disparities in suicide-related behaviors among middle school-aged adolescents.
Keywords: Adolescent; Health equity; Middle school; Racial disparities; Suicide.
Published by Elsevier Inc.