Tags : SAMHSA, suicide, suicide prevention
Study: 8 Million Americans Thought Of Committing Suicide In 2008
Rockville, MD (AHN) – Some 8.3 million American adults contemplated suicide last year with 2.3 million making plans to kill themselves and 1.1 million attempting so, according to a survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Based on the survey’s results posted on the SAMHSA website, the agency found American adults aged 18 to 25 were far more likely to have seriously considered suicide in the past year than those aged 26 to 49 (6.7 percent versus 3.9 percent), and nearly three times more likely than those aged 50 or older (2.3 percent).
The survey found that people experiencing substance abuse disorders within the past year were more than three times as likely to have seriously considered committing suicide as those who had not experienced a substance abuse disorder (11.0 percent versus 3.0 percent). Those with past year substance abuse disorders were also four times more likely to have planned a suicide than those without substance abuse disorders (3.4 percent versus 0.8 percent), and nearly seven times more likely to have attempted suicide (2.0 percent versus 0.3 percent).
Furthermore, the study found that adult females had marginally higher levels of suicidal thoughts and behaviors than males in the past year.
The survey covered 46,190 respondents aged 18 or older
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