For young people 15-24 years old, suicide is among the three leading causes of death. In 1998, more teenagers and young adults died of suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia and influenza, and chronic lung disease combined.

Persons under the age of 25 accounted for 4459 suicides in the U.S.. Those aged 20-24 years represented 7% of the population, but 8% of all suicide deaths in 1998. The rate among children aged 10-14 was 1.7/100,000, the rate for children aged 15-19 was 8.9 per 100,000, and the rate for young people aged 20-24 was 13.6/100,000.

Suicidal behaviors in young people are usually the result of a process that involves multiple social, economic, familial, and individual risk factors with mental health problems playing an important part in its development.

Identified risk factors for suicide and attempted suicide for young people include the following: mood disorders, substance abuse disorders, certain personality disorders, low socioeconomic status, childhood maltreatment, parental separation or divorce, inappropriate access to firearms, and interpersonal conflicts or losses.

Only a few studies have examined protective factors among youth for suicidal behavior. Both parent-family connectedness and perceived school connectedness have been shown to be protective against suicidal behavior.

Over the last several decades, the suicide rate in young people has increased dramatically. From 1952-1994, the incidence of suicide among adolescents and young adults nearly tripled, although there has been a general decline in youth suicides since 1994. However, national surveys of high school students during the 1990s have found an increase in those reporting suicide attempts that require medical treatment.

An international study of suicides for those aged 15-24 years in 34 high and upper middle income nations showed the United States had the 12th leading suicide rate.

Firearms (60%) and hanging (26%) were the two most common methods of suicide used by persons aged 0-24 years.

Males under the age of 25 are much more likely to commit suicide than their female counterparts. The 1998 sex ratio for people aged 15-19 was 5:1 (males to females), while among those aged 20-24 it was 6:1.

Studies examining the relationship between suicidal behavior and sexual orientation have shown there is an increased risk for suicide attempts among youth reporting gay/lesbian/bisexual orientation especially for males. There are currently no empirical data on suicides to support assertions about increased risk for that behavior.

In 1999, the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, in a nationwide survey of high school students found that in the 12 months preceding the survey, one-fifth had seriously considered suicide and one in thirteen had attempted suicide, the latter represents an estimated 1.3 million students. The survey found that females (10.9%) were significantly more likely than males (5.7%) to have reported a suicide attempt.

In 1998, in a nationwide survey of students attending alternative high schools, the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, found that in the 12 months preceding the survey, one-fourth had seriously considered suicide and approximately one in six had attempted suicide. Again females (20.0%) were significantly more likely than males (12.1%) to have reported a suicide attempt.

A 1995, national survey of college students, the National College Health Risk Behavior Survey, found that in the 12 months preceding the survey, one-tenth had seriously considered suicide and approximately one in every sixty-seven had attempted suicide.