COLUMBIANA CO., OH (WKBN) – September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, American Suicide Prevention Foundationsuicide is the 12th leading cause of death in the United States.
A 2019 ASFP survey found that nearly 9% of young people had attempted suicide, while a 2021 survey in Columbiana County found that 23% of young people there had attempted suicide. It is shown that there is
Every two years since 2000, Columbiana County has asked students in grades 7, 9, and 10 about their risk-taking behaviors, called the Attitude and Behavior Survey. The latest survey was conducted in 2021 and received over 1,500 eligible responses.
The survey found that 23% of students in Columbiana County said they had attempted suicide, a 3% increase since the last survey was conducted in 2018.
“I definitely think that being in a rural area makes accessing services much more difficult,” says child psychiatrist Dr. Carmen Harlan.
Harlan is a psychiatrist at Akron Children’s Hospital and has worked in the field for nearly 30 years. She said social media and cyberbullying may have been a factor.
But doctors are still investigating the factors driving suicide in adolescents.
“I think we now live in a world where children are under increasing pressure to keep up with each other. Children are increasingly exposed to situations that leave them vulnerable.” says Harlan.
Harlan suggests discussing self-harm with children.
“Just asking a child if he feels anything about hurting himself doesn’t make him hurt himself.
Attitudes and behavior studies also found other troubling statistics about young people. Columbiana CountyOf the more than 1,500 students surveyed, we found:
- 30% are involved in bulimic or anorexic behaviors
- 31% are sad or depressed
- 18% used alcohol last month
- 10% used marijuana in the last year
