Suicide took the lives of 31,284 Americans in 1995 (11.9 per 100,000 population).More people die from suicide than from homicide in the United States. In 1995, 22,552 Americans died from homicide (8.58 per 100,000 population).
Overall, suicide is the
ninth leading cause of death for all Americans, and is the third
leading cause of death for young people aged 15-24.
Although the age-adjusted suicide rate has
remained constant since the 1940s, suicide rates have shifted
for some groups during the period between 1980 and 1992. For example,
suicide rates have increased among persons between the ages of
10 and 19, among young black males, and among elderly males. Suicide
rates for middle-aged adults declined during this period, but,
for the first time since the 1930s, increased among Americans
over the age of 60.
Nearly 60% of all suicides
are committed with a firearm.
In 1995, more than 90% of all suicides in this country were among
whites, with males accounting for 73% and females 18% of all suicides.
However, during the period from 1979-1992, suicide rates for Native
Americans (a category that includes American Indians and Alaska
Natives) were about 1.5 times the national rates. There was a
disproportionate number of suicides among young male Native Americans
during this period, as males 15-24 accounted for 64% of all suicides
by Native Americans.
Suicide among black youths, once uncommon,
has increased sharply in recent years. In 1980, the rate of black
suicide for teens 15-19 more than doubled from 3.6 per 100,000
to 8.1 per 100,000. Although white teens still have a higher rate
of suicide, the gap is narrowing.
The homicide rate has doubled
and the suicide rate has tripled among 10- to 14-year-olds during
the past 20 years. Homicide is now the leading cause of death
among black youth ages 15 to 19 years. 1
In 1994, there were 416 homicides among youth 10 to 14 years of
age and 8,116 homicides among youth 15 to 24 years of age. Black
males accounted for 32 percent of all homicides among youth ages
10 to 14 years and 52 percent of all homicides among youth ages
15 to 24 years. 2
Homicide is a more frequent cause of death
among blacks ages 15 to 24 than among Hispanics and whites those
same ages. In the 1993 to 1995 period, 152 deaths per 100,000
black males were homicides, compared to 64 deaths per 100,000
Hispanic males and 17 deaths per 100,000 white males. Among young
females, 19 deaths per 100,000 blacks were reportedly due to homicide,
versus 7 deaths per 100,000 Hispanics, and 4 deaths per 100,000
whites. 3
In 1994, well over three-quarters of all homicides were associated
with firearms. Seventy-eight percent of homicides among 10- to
14-year-olds and 86 percent of homicides among 15- to 19-year-olds
were associated with firearms.
Specifically, 92 percent and
83 percent of homicides among young (15 to 24 years of age) black
and white males, respectively, were associated with firearms.
Fewer homicides among young black females (72 percent) and white
females (65 percent) resulted from firearms. (1994)
The firearm homicide rate for 10- to 14-year-olds
more than doubled between 1985 and 1992 (from 0.8 per 100,000
population to 1.9 per 100,000 population). For black males, the
rate increased from 3.0 to 8.4 per 100,000 population during the
same period.
From 1993 to 1995, suicide
rates were higher among males than among females in the 15- to
24-year-old age group. Suicide rates for black males (20 per 100,000),
white males (24 per 100,000), and Hispanic males (18 per 100,000)
were considerably higher than for black and Hispanic females (3
per 100,000 for each) and white females (4 per 100,000).
From 1980 to 1992, the rate of suicide among
young adolescents (ages 10 to 14 years) increased 120 percent,
with the most dramatic increases among black males (300 percent)
and white females (233 percent).
Males accounted for 88 percent
of the 629 deaths to suicide among 15- to 24-year-old blacks in
1994. White males accounted for a similar proportion (87 percent)
of the deaths among whites ages 15 to 24 years. 2
Black males (76 percent) between 15 and 24 years of age were the
most likely to use a firearm to complete suicide, compared to
69 percent of white males, 63 percent of black females, and 56
percent of white females the same age. (1994)
Although the firearm suicide rate in 1990 for white males 15 to 19 years of age was 1.5 times the rate for black males (13.5 per 100,000 population compared to 8.8 per 100,000 population), between 1985 and 1990, the growth rate in firearm suicide deaths had been greater among black males than among white males. The firearm suicide rate among black males increased 63 percent between 1985 and 1990--from 5.4 per 100,000 population to 8.8 per 100,000 population. This compares to the 25 percent rate of increase for white teen males (from 10.8 per 100,000 population to 13.5 per 100,000 population) over that same period.