GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — After unintentional accidents, suicide is the second leading cause of adolescent death.
In response to staggering statistics, the American Academy of Pediatrics studied over 5,300 kids (aged 11-17) and their parents, recruited by a pediatric health network in Philadelphia.
Researchers asked the kids questions such as these: Have you ever thought about death or dying? Have you ever thought about killing yourself?
What the AAP discovered about suicidal thoughts in teens prompted it to recommend new types of suicide screening for adolescents.
The AAP says suicidal ideation can range from a vague wish to be dead to forming a specific plan and intent to commit suicide.
Half of the parents who were surveyed had no idea that their teenagers had ever had a suicidal thought.
More than 75 percent of the parents did not know that their teens were having recurring suicidal thoughts.
The AAP notes in its study that recurring suicidal thoughts may not necessarily be suicidal ideation. Sometimes, thoughts like these mean that the teen is under a lot of distress.
Recurring suicidal thoughts can also be a symptom of a major depressive disorder.
Researchers not only discovered a "high lack of parental awareness" about their teens' suicidal ideation or suicidal thoughts, but also found that, in some of the cases where parents were reporting that their teens had suicidal thoughts, the parents were wrong.
Sometimes, the parents reported that their teens were having suicidal thoughts, but the teens disagreed.
In other cases, teens would lie about the suicidal thoughts they were actually having.
Because of this lack of communication between teens and their parents, the AAP now recommends a "personalized approach" when pediatricians are screening their patients.
The authors of the survey also suggest that pediatricians try many different approaches to suicide screening, as the effectiveness of certain methods can vary among patients.
The AAP warns that many teens who are risk of suicide may be going undetected, even if they have been screened.
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