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Suicides Kill More Middle School Students Than Car Crashes In America: What Troubles Youngsters So Much That They Prefer To Die?

By Patrick Frye
Published on: 02:56 PST, Nov 5, 2016

Kids and teenagers in America are committing suicides at a drastic rate, revealed a federal study. Evidently, more kids and adolescent children in the United States have died from suicides than car crashes in 2014.

A federal report has revealed a shocking statistic about the deaths of children and teenagers in the United States. Apparently, children between the age of 10 and 14 are increasingly choosing to take the drastic step of ending their life. According to the report, the rate of suicides has risen steadily in the past seven years, and effectively doubled from the numbers in 2007. The steady rise in middle school suicides has, for the first time, surpassed deaths of children from traffic accidents.

In the year 2007, about one kid in 100,000 from the age group of 10 to 14 committed suicide in the U.S. In 2014, more than two children per 100,000 chose to end their life. In the same time, and in the same age group, traffic deaths declined marginally and have fallen to 1.9 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. While the decline might not seem much, the motor vehicle mortality rate has fallen by more than 60 percent since 1999. Unfortunately, data from previous years could not be obtained because the American government began keeping track of such figures from 1999.

In terms of actual numbers, 425 kids between the ages of 10 to 14 years took their own lives in 2014. In the same year, 384 kids died in automobile related accidents, indicated the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Back in 2007, these numbers varied widely. In 2007, the number of children killed in automobile related accidents was more than four times than the number of suicides.

While this certainly doesn’t mean cars were a lot unsafe in the last decade, it certainly means that there was far less number of suicides. In other words, kids didn’t choose to end their lives with such alacrity as is evident from 2014’s figures. Although the number of suicides is a cause of concern, the government, and especially the parents, shouldn’t jump to any conclusions, noted Mark Kaplan, a professor of social welfare at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“Any rise (in youth suicides) should be of concern, there’s no doubt. In time we might uncover some reasons, but a cautionary note not to rush to any conclusions from this. The underlying causes of suicide are highly complex, making it difficult to explain the trends documented by the CDC.”

What is causing the young kids to take the drastic step or think of committing suicide? The statistic put forth by CDC merely indicates the number of suicides has risen steadily. However, it does not mention the leading causes of suicides among the kids.

However, the American Association of Suicidology does indicate some primary reasons why kids are increasingly contemplating suicide. Majority of the cases involve some kind of substance abuse. However, depression is also a leading cause that manifests itself in abrupt mood swings, uncontrolled rage, and withdrawal from family and friends, reported KTTS. Other reasons middle schoolers are committing suicide include bullying and heartbreak.

CDC, however, cautions that these factors do not necessarily lead to suicide, but are often warning signs that parents must watch out for, and attempt to establish communication channels. Incidentally, the suicide figures indicate that boys are more likely to commit suicide. CDC points out that girls are more vocal about their feelings and often tell their near and dear ones when they are contemplating suicide.

While suicides might have surpassed deaths from automobile accidents, unintentional injuries or accidents of all kinds still remain the number one reason for deaths of Americans between 10 to 14 years of age. Fortunately, mortality rates from traffic collisions among all age groups have steadily decreased because of mandatory safety features, reported NBC News.

[Featured Image by David Burton/Getty Images]

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