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Incidence of Suicidal Ideation and Behavior in the United States, 1994
Author(s) -
Crosby Alex E.,
Cheltenham Mark P.,
Sacks Jeffrey J.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1111/j.1943-278x.1999.tb01051.x
Subject(s) - suicidal ideation , suicidal behavior , suicide prevention , depression (economics) , psychiatry , incidence (geometry) , ideation , telephone survey , poison control , psychology , injury prevention , clinical psychology , medicine , demography , medical emergency , physics , business , marketing , optics , economics , macroeconomics , sociology , cognitive science
Completed suicides reflect only a portion of the impact of suicidal behavior; sublethal behaviors cause morbidity and can signal treatable problems such as depression. There is no national quantification of nonlethal suicidal behaviors. The present study used a random‐digit‐dialed telephone survey to estimate the 12‐month incidence of suicidal ideation, planning, and attempts among U.S. adults. Of 5,238 respondents, 5.6% (representing about 10.5 million persons) reported suicidal ideation, 2.7% (about 2.7 million) made a specific suicide plan, and 0.7% (about 700,000) made a suicide attempt (estimate = 1.1 million attempts). Hence, suicidal behaviors are not uncommon and occur along a continuum ranging from ideation to completed suicides. Preventing nonlethal precursor behaviors may prevent deaths.