A recently released report shows Indiana ranking with a relatively high suicide risk among young people.
The “Kids Count In Indiana 2015” Data Book says suicide has been the second-leading cause of death for residents between the ages of 15 and 24 in the Hoosier State. The report covers numerous topics, including health, population, and economic data.
Porter County Mental Health America Executive Director Mary Hodson says young people are facing many pressures, including economic and financial pressures.
“The actual family situation, income, there’s been high unemployment, so there’s a lot of pressures and stressors on that family unit,” says Hodson.
Apart from being a leading cause of death among the state’s young residents, Indiana also ranks first in the nation in another category. According to that same report, Indiana has the highest rate of students who say they have contemplated suicide at 19-percent.
Indiana also has the second-highest rate of high school students attempting suicide with 11-percent.
Hodson says studies such as “Kids Count” can help communities.
“The reason a study like this is done, and the importance of it is to look at it and now use it and say identify – which they know – where some of the areas are, identify within our own communities where they are, and what actions we can take as a community to help,” says Hodson.
Between 2007 and 2011, more than 1,700 residents between the ages of 10 and 19 were treated in an inpatient setting for a self-inflicted injury.
Hodson says listening to individuals as a community and as a group and recognizing the signs of suicide risk are a first step in prevention.
