TOPLINE

The prevalence of suicide planning among US adolescents aged 12-17 years declined between 2021 and 2024, whereas that of suicidal ideation did not change significantly after covariate adjustment, a study showed. Girls, adolescents reporting past-year use of alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana, and adolescents with a major depressive episode (MDE) had higher odds of suicidal ideation and suicide planning than their respective counterparts.

METHODOLOGY

• An analysis of nationally representative data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health for 2021-2024 included 36,372 adolescents aged 12-17 years (45.6% girls; 50.4% non-Hispanic White individuals) in the US.
• Suicidal ideation was assessed by asking the participants whether they had seriously thought about attempting suicide in the past 12 months. Suicide planning was assessed among those endorsing suicidal ideation by asking them whether they had made plans to end their lives in the past 12 months.
• Covariates included sex, race and ethnicity, age, past-year substance use (alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana), and past-year MDE status.

TAKEAWAY

• Unadjusted prevalence of suicide planning was 7.41% in 2021 and 5.13% in 2024, and that of suicidal ideation was 12.8% and 10%, respectively. After adjusting for the covariates, the odds of suicidal ideation among surveyed adolescents did not change significantly between 2021 and 2024. The odds of suicide planning were lower among adolescents surveyed in 2024 than among those surveyed in 2021 (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.76; P < .05).
• Girls were more likely to report suicidal ideation (aOR, 1.49; P < .001) and suicide planning (aOR, 1.79; P < .001) than boys. Non-Hispanic Black adolescents (aOR, 1.48; P < .001) and non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native adolescents (aOR, 2.14; P < .05) were more likely to report suicide planning than non-Hispanic White adolescents. After adjustment, adolescents aged 16-17 years were less likely to report suicidal ideation (aOR, 0.77; P < .01) and suicide planning (aOR, 0.55; P < .001) than those aged 12-13 years.
• Adolescents who experienced an MDE in the past year had about 20 times higher odds of suicidal ideation (aOR, 20.4; P < .001) and suicide planning (aOR, 19.4; P < .001) than those who did not experience an MDE in the past year, although the definition of MDE includes having suicidal thoughts.
• Higher odds of suicidal ideation and suicide planning were observed among adolescents who reported past-year use of alcohol (aORs, 1.45 and 1.52, respectively), tobacco (aORs, 1.90 and 2.53, respectively), or marijuana (aORs, 1.86 and 1.97, respectively; all P < .001) than among those who did not report past-year use of the respective substance.

IN PRACTICE

"These findings highlight the importance of prevention efforts that extend beyond crisis response and emphasize early identification of emotional distress, integrated mental health and substance-use services, strong school and family connectedness, and timely access to evidence-based care," the authors wrote.

SOURCE

The study was led by Aminul I. Apu, MS, MPH, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois. It was published online on October 10 in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

LIMITATIONS

The study was limited by its cross-sectional design, exclusion of high-risk populations such as homeless and institutionalized adolescents, lack of validated measures of outcomes, potential underreporting of symptoms and behaviors, and the lack of assessment of some psychosocial factors.

DISCLOSURES

Funding information was not provided for the study. The authors reported no relevant conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.