Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in youth aged 12-19. Estimates from the data indicate that nearly 7.4% of the American youth attempted suicide in 2017 alone, while 17.2% of teens considered attempting suicide. The last decade has seen an increase in the number of suicide attempts in teenagers. Given the seriousness of this issue, it is important to identify the factors that are leading to this increase in suicide attempts. This paper closely examines the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), in order to understand characteristics of teenagers who attempted suicide. our Analysis found that among teens who attempted suicide, three distinct classes were evident which were characterized mainly by sexual assault, bullying, and depression respectively. Moreover, it found seen that the odds of attempting suicide were four times higher for teens who were sexually assaulted and three times higher for teens who were bullied or abused drugs.The outcome of the paper highlights the importance of early intervention in preventing teenagers from slipping down a “rabbit hole” of risky behaviors that ultimately lead them to take their own lives.

Presenter(s)

Ashlesha Sampathi | Mounica Mandapati | Venkat Reddy | Nitesh Maruthi