According to a report released by YouthTruth on December 2, 2019, over 14% of students seriously considered attempting suicide in last 12 months. The data in the report was gleaned from survey responses logged between 2012 and 2019 from over 70,000 secondary school-age students in 18 states. This is consistent with research that shows an increase nationwide in students who demonstrate suicidal ideation and mental health issues.

The survey results also showed that 68 percent of student respondents have coping mechanisms that help them to deal with stress, emotional upset, and other similar issues. However, 22 % of special education student respondents reported experiencing thoughts of suicide. What is further noteworthy is that these students report a higher sense of availability of an adult they can turn to in times of trouble as compared to their general education peers. In fact, 53 percent of special needs students identified such availability as compared to 45% of the general ed. student respondents. Similarly, 48% of students eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch program (SNAP) report adult availability as compared to 42% of students who do not qualify for SNAP. On a similar note, 38% of students who qualify for SNAP report feeling that there are programs or services at their school to support their emotional and mental health needs, as compared to 31% non-eligible students. Also, 45% of English Language Learners reported that there are programs and services in school that can help them, while only 35% of other students reported the same. The report also showed that fewer fifth through eighth grade students reported experiencing prolonged sadness or depression than their high school-age peers. Middle school students also reported feeling more positively about the availability of programs and services at their school that can help them when they need it.

There is much more valuable information in the report and readers are urged to access the complete report by clicking here.

Thanks to Education Dive for information contained in this article.