Suicide is now the eighth leading cause of death in Americans. For every two victims of homicide in the U.S. there are three persons who take their own lives. Between 1952 and 1995, the incidence of suicide among adolescents and young adults nearly tripled. Over half of all suicides occur in adult men, aged 25-65. Many who make suicide attempts never seek professional care immediately after the attempt.
Males are four times more likely to die from suicide than are females.
More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia and influenza, and chronic lung disease, combined. Suicide takes the lives of more than 30,000 Americans every year.