New CDC Report Shines Light on Teen Suicide Trends

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A new report states that the number of attempted suicides by teens has dramatically increased in the last few years. The report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance - United States 2011, published last week in the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report -- examined several teenage suicide trends. It found the attempted suicide rate increased from 6.3 percent of the nation’s high school population in 2009 to 7.8 percent in 2011. Additionally, the report finds that almost 16 percent of the nation’s high school students seriously considered attempting suicide in 2011, an increase from 13.8 percent just two years earlier. Compared to 2009 statistics, researchers say that American high school students are generally more depressed, with more than a quarter of students reporting that they felt “sad or hopeless almost every day” for two or more weeks in a row.

7.2% of high school students use some form of cocaine

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According to a report by the CDC,  7.2% of all high school students, nationwide, used some form of cocaine in 2007, including crack, powder and freebase. The nationwide study also reveals that 7.8% of users were boys and 6.5% were girls. Of the students who used any form of cocaine:

10.9% were  Hispanic
7.4% were White
1.8% were Black

Prescription drug abuse tops teen risk list

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More than 20% of high school students are using prescription drugs illegally.  The CDC’s National Youth Risk Behavior Survey polled more than 16,000 teens and found alarming abuse of drugs such as Ritalin, Xanax and Oxycontin.  WebMD also reports on teen drinking trends, risky dieting habits like fasting and vomiting, and seat belt use.