Suicides among children and adolescents in the United States continue to rise at alarming rates. A new study co-authored by a New Mexico State University researcher estimates that thousands of years of life are lost due to suicides among American Indian and Alaska Native children.

Jagdish Khubchandani, a professor of public health at NMSU, published the findings of his latest study in the October 2024 edition of the Journal of Community Health.

Using data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Khubchandani and his research team found that a total of 257 adolescents died of suicide between 2015 and 2021, a majority of which involved males and older American Indian and Alaska Native adolescents. The most common methods of suicide were suffocation and firearms.

“Suicides are among the leading causes of death for American children and, unfortunately, suicides are now ranking among the top 10 causes of death for children and teenagers,” Khubchandani said. “What is especially disconcerting is that there is not much discussion at a national level to solve this problem.”

The new study builds on Khubchandani’s previous research that has found major spikes in suicides among American children over the past decade for all racial and ethnic groups.

According to the latest study, the crude suicide death rate of American Indian and Alaska Native adolescents (18.95 per 100,000) was the highest of any racial/ethnic group (70.4% greater than non-Hispanic Whites, 239% greater than non-Hispanic Blacks, 284.1% greater than Asians, and 298% greater than Hispanics). It shows that American Indian and Alaska Native adolescents lost almost 16,000 years of potential life from 2015 to 2021 due to suicidal deaths. The majority of life years were lost by male children.

The study also found that more than 25% American Indian and Alaska Native adolescents considered attempting suicide, nearly 20% planned suicide and more than 10% attempted suicide from 2015 to 2021. Khubchandani previously found in a separate study that firearm deaths are increasing among American Indians and Alaska Natives, with most deaths being due to suicides.

“To prevent suicides among American Indian and Alaska Native populations, we urgently need to understand the risk factors from a lifespan approach,” Khubchandani said, noting the lack of comprehensive understanding of solutions to prevent suicides among this population from childhood to older age.

The study shows that while American Indians and Alaska Natives only comprised 1.8% of the adolescent population in 2021, the crude suicide rates for boys and girls in these groups increased by 50% and 10%, respectively, over the past five years.

The study notes a wide range of risk factors for American Indian and Alaska Native children, including higher rates of childhood adversity, poverty, racial discrimination, family and parental conflicts, untreated mental health problems, social isolation, substance abuse and interpersonal violence such as bullying.

“It is difficult to practically address the variety and intensity of these risk factors for suicide among American Indian and Alaska Native children,” Khubchandani said.

“We propose two broader strategies for these adolescents, one of them being higher mental health literacy and access to mental health care. Second, we need to focus on school and community climate to increase resilience, the feeling of belonging, and resources and support for these children.”