Parent Resources
- A Parent's Guide to Recognizing and Treating Depression in Your Child
(from the Youth Suicide Prevention Program at www.yspp.org)
- With Suicide the 3rd Leading Cause of Death Among Youth, Know the Signs of Danger
(from The National Center for Kids Overcoming Crisis at www.kidspeace.org)
Did You Know?
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Approximately 20% of teens will experience depression before reaching adulthood. [1]
- Approximately 5% of teens suffer are suffering from depression at any given time. [2]
- Episodes of teen depression generally last about 8 months. [3]
- Only 30% of children and teens suffering from with mental, emotional and behavioral problems receive any sort of intervention or treatment. The other 70% go untreated. [4]
- 15% of teens suffering from depression will eventually develop bipolar disorder. [5]
- A person suffering from bipolar disorder alternates between periods of depression and mania. Some symptoms are insomnia, irritability, inability to concentrate. [6]
- Dysthymia, a type of mild, long-lasting depression, affects about 2% of teens. [7]
- Adolescent depression or other mental disorders are linked to 90% of teen suicides.
- In 2000, more than 1,000,000 youths, aged 12 – 17, attempted suicide. Most were suffering from undiagnosed or untreated depression.
- In America alone, a person commits suicide every 18 minutes.
- Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among college-aged males.
- Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among teenage males.
- Suicide is the 6th leading cause of death among children ages 5-14.
- Some reports show that suicide accounts for more deaths among teens than cancer, heart disease, birth defects, lung disease and AIDS combined.
- Adolescent females attempt suicide three times as often as adolescent males. However, due to the violent means males typically use, teenage boys kill themselves at a rate 5 times greater than females.
- 20-50% of suicide attempts among teens are linked to alcohol and/or drug use. [8]
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[1] http://www.teendepression.org/articles5.html
[2] Shepps Battle, Judy; “Current Trends in Treating Adolescent Depression (2002); http://www.about-teen-depression.com/trends-treatment.html.
[3] http://www.teendepression.org/articles5.html
[4] “About Teen Depression”; http://www.about-teen-depression.com/depression-statistics.html.
[5] http://www.teendepression.org/articles5.html
[6] http://www.teendepression.org/articles1.html