--- title: "Psych News Alert: Youth Suicide Attempts Often Start Early in Life" description: Forty percent of youth who attempt suicide make their first attempt even before they reach high school, a study headed by James Mazza of the... image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/depressed%20child_74353018-Jun-24-2025-04-16-16-0262-PM.jpg --- 12/12/11 12:00 AM # Youth Suicide Attempts Often Start Early in Life ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) Share: [facebook-f icon ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://alert.psychnews.org/2011/12/youth-suicide-attempts-often-start.html) [linkedin-in icon ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2011/12/youth-suicide-attempts-often-start.html) [Twitter icon ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2011/12/youth-suicide-attempts-often-start.html) [pinterest-p icon ](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2011/12/youth-suicide-attempts-often-start.html) [envelope icon ](mailto:?body=https://alert.psychnews.org/2011/12/youth-suicide-attempts-often-start.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/depressed%20child_74353018-Jun-24-2025-04-16-17-9011-PM.jpg?width=200&height=133&name=depressed%20child_74353018-Jun-24-2025-04-16-17-9011-PM.jpg)](https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/depressed%20child_74353018-Jun-24-2025-04-16-16-9286-PM.jpg) Forty percent of youth who attempt suicide make their first attempt even before they reach high school, a study headed by James Mazza of the University of Washington and published in the November *Journal of Adolescent Health *has found. The researchers also found that suicide attempts during childhood and adolescence were linked to higher scores on measures of depression at the time of the attempts. For an in-depth exploration of the link between depression and suicide in youngsters, see the American Psychiatric Publishing book *[The Many Faces of Depression in Children and Adolescents](http://www.appi.org/SearchCenter/Pages/SearchDetail.aspx?ItemId=62071). *It reviews not just what is known about the causes of depression and suicide in youth, but discusses state-of-the-art pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy for youth with depression who are at greater suicide risk.  (Image: Pojoslaw/Shutterstock.com) [causes of depression and suicide in youth](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/causes-of-depression-and-suicide-in-youth), [youth depression](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/youth-depression), [treatment for depressed youth](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/treatment-for-depressed-youth), [youth suicide](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/youth-suicide) ## Related posts [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Suicide%20Antidepressent%20Children-2.jpg?height=200&name=Suicide%20Antidepressent%20Children-2.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2014/01/type-of-antidepressant-doesn-affect.html) [adolescent suicide](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/adolescent-suicide), [antidepressant](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/antidepressant) ## [Type of Antidepressant Doesn't Affect Teens' Risk for Suicide, Study Finds](https://alert.psychnews.org/2014/01/type-of-antidepressant-doesn-affect.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 1/21/14 12:00 AM Adolescents taking an antidepressant that is not FDA-approved to treat depression did not show any... [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2014/01/type-of-antidepressant-doesn-affect.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/birthcontrol_iStock-139710089-Jun-24-2025-07-44-23-7010-PM.jpg?height=200&name=birthcontrol_iStock-139710089-Jun-24-2025-07-44-23-7010-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2017/11/hormonal-contraception-may-increase.html) [suicide](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/suicide), [ajp in advance](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/ajp-in-advance), [antidepressants](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/antidepressants), [suicide attempts](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/suicide-attempts), [hormonal contraception](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/hormonal-contraception), [Denmark](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/denmark) ## [Hormonal Contraception May Increase Risk of Suicide, Study Suggests](https://alert.psychnews.org/2017/11/hormonal-contraception-may-increase.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 11/20/17 12:00 AM Women who use hormonal birth control may be more likely to attempt or die by suicide than those who... [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2017/11/hormonal-contraception-may-increase.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/army_iStock-182794216-Jun-24-2025-10-30-48-8812-PM.jpg?height=200&name=army_iStock-182794216-Jun-24-2025-10-30-48-8812-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2017/07/suicide-attempt-risk-may-be-higher.html) [U.S. Army](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/u-s-army), [Robert Ursano](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/robert-ursano), [Charles Hoge](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/charles-hoge), [early intervention](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/early-intervention), [Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servic](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/army-study-to-assess-risk-and-resilience-in-servic), [suicide attempts](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/suicide-attempts), [army unit](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/army-unit), [STARRS](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/starrs) ## [Suicide Attempt Risk May Be Higher Among Soldiers in Army Units With History of Suicide Attempts](https://alert.psychnews.org/2017/07/suicide-attempt-risk-may-be-higher.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 7/26/17 12:00 AM U.S. Army soldiers may be more likely to attempt suicide if others in their unit have made recent... 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