Incidence of suicidal ideation and behavior in the United States, 1994.
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.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA 30341-3724, USA.
A E
AE
Crosby
M P
MP
Cheltenham
J J
JJ
Sacks
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology