Suicide in colleges in the United States

Universities and colleges would sometimes avoid drawing attention to student suicides, as they did not want the reputation and image of their institutions to suffer.[6] One of the earliest records of suicides of college students in the United States was in 1927, when 20 students across the entire continent committed suicides.[6] In 2006, 1100 students in the US committed suicide, and 24,000 attempted it.[7]

Since the year 2000, rates of suicide deaths have increased dramatically, something that psychiatrist Doris Iarovici has attributed to the rise in depression in students.[8]

Depression is the strongest correlates of suicidal behavior in college students.[9] Among college students, factors indicating risk for persistent suicidal ideation included low social support, childhood or adolescent exposure to domestic violence, maternal depression, and high self-reported symptoms of depression.[2] Females, individuals who have been previously screened for psychiatric illness, those with a positive family history of suicide, those that are more impulsive, and those that have elevated motor impulsivity may be at greater risk of developing suicidal ideation.[10] Positive family history of suicide and high motor impulsivity are also correlated with suicidal attempts among college students, rather than simple ideation.[10] Alcohol use is also a predictor of suicide proneness in college populations,[11] as is having trouble sleeping.[12] College students who are less invested in their bodies are at greater risk of eventually engaging in suicidal behaviors.[13]

Suicidal ideation refers to the act of thinking about, considering, or planning suicide.[14] Suicidal ideation is extraordinarily more prevalent among college-age students.[15] According to a study at Emory University, 11.1% of students reported having suicidal ideation within the past four weeks and 16.5% have had a suicide attempt or self-injurious event at least once in their lifetime.[15] Suicidal ideation was associated with symptoms of depression and students who reported current suicidal ideation had more severe depression symptoms.[15] Among college students, depressive symptoms and the severity level of the worst suicidal ideation in an individual's lifetime are two short-term predictors of current suicidal ideation.[16]

The amount and type of motivations for suicide can vary from student to student, however a common motivation for suicide has been stress.[17] In a 2008 physiological study conducted by the Associated Press and MTVU, eight out of ten college students reported a feeling of horrible stress that impacted their grades.[17] Another common motivating factor has been issues at home that can impact their academic career.[18] Home-based issues can be composed of abuse, starvation, and overall poor living conditions.[18] Depression can also be a factor.[19]

Social support is likely a key variable in preventing suicide in college populations, as the link between depressive symptoms and hopelessness was reduced among college students who had high levels of social support.[20] Universal prevention interventions—which usually employed gatekeeper prevention strategies—have been shown to be beneficial for training those likely to come into contact with suicidal students, as they have led to significant increases in suicide prevention knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy.[21] In gatekeeper interventions, “gatekeepers” are those people who regularly encounter distressed individuals or groups.[21] On college campuses, these individuals include instructors, students, resident assistants, and other campus life officials.[21] Peer-led suicide prevention workshops have also been effective at improving their participants’ knowledge about suicide and the resources available.[22]

In a national survey, less than half of the college students who seriously contemplated suicide during the previous twelve months received any mental health treatment during that time.[23] Among college students who reported having had serious thoughts of suicide, those that had a higher perceived need, believed that treatment would be effective, contacted other users of mental health services, had lower personal stigma, a higher perceived stigma, fewer positive relationships, was a sexual minority, or a Caucasian were more likely to access campus mental health services.[23] Because help seeking behavior among with suicidal college students is correlated with such a wide range of personal and social factors, campus initiatives should attempt to limit barriers to treatment for target populations and enhance aspects that encourage treatment seeking.[23]