Suicide rates in the U.S.A. can best be characterized as mostly stable over time with a slight tendency toward an increase. Rates of suicide are highest in the western regions with the Mountain States highest. Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death. Males complete suicide at a rate four times that of females. Suicide rates have traditionally decreased in times of war and increased in times of economic crisis.
Suicide rates are highest among the divorced, separated, and widowed and lowest among the married.
Since the late 1970s, suicide rates for youth have remained stable or slightly decreased. White suicide rates are approximately twice those of non-whites. Blacks and Hispanics, when ranked among worldwide statistics and reporting, exhibit lower risk of suicides.