Suicide Prevention
Preparing for exams, balancing work and school, managing finances, navigating relationships, and finding time for extracurricular activities ... college life is stressful. For many students, these stressors can quickly add up and become unbearable. Unfortunately, some see their situation as hopeless, and their thoughts turn to suicide.
More than 1,000 college students commit suicide annually, and the number is steadily increasing.
- Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among young adults (ages 20-24)
- More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza and chronic lung disease combined. Source: Centers for Disease Control
Suicide Prevention and Awareness Training
Counseling Services staff are available to provide training for campus community members to increase competency in suicide prevention and awareness using AFSP's Talk Saves Lives and/or It's Real curriculum. Mental Health First Aid is also available for campus community members, which provides suicide prevention and awareness content, along with more broad subject matter related to mental health.
If interested in scheduling a training, please go to the Outreach and Prevention page to complete the Qualtrics request form.
Facts
In 2013, 0.6 percent of people age 18 and over attempted suicide. During the same period of time, 7.5 percent of those 18-25 seriously considered suicide. Rates of suicide among young people attending college are actually significantly lower than among those not attending college.
Although women are more likely to attempt suicide, men die by suicide four times more often than women.
The rate of suicide among white Americans, Native Americans and Alaska natives is approximately the same, approximately 15.5 suicides per 100,000 people each year. The suicide rate of Blacks, Asian/Pacific Islanders and Hispanics is approximately six suicides per 100,000 people each year. Suicide rates in Native Americans and Alaska Natives peak during adolescence and young adulthood. (Source: The Jed Foundation)
Protective Factors
Protective factors are circumstances or situations in a person’s life that help protect them from suicide. These include means restriction (keeping potentially lethal means for suicide out of the hands of a person struggling with suicidal thoughts or urges), having access to adequate behavioral health care, having strong coping skills and resilience, connecting to supportive people or a supportive community, having a sense of purpose in life and having cultural or religious beliefs that discourage suicide. (Source: Jed Foundation)
