Mental Health Disparities Among High School Youth in Colorado, 2013

BACKGROUND:  Colorado consistently ranks among the top ten states with the highest teen (15-19 years) suicide rate. Suicide is the leading cause of death for youth in Colorado. Mental illness is the leading risk factor for suicide. Half of youth suicides in Colorado involved a current depressed mood. The purpose of this study was to assess depression and suicide among high school youth in Colorado.   

METHODS:  Data from the 2013 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey representing 25,197 students in 106 public high schools throughout Colorado were used for analysis. Surveys were completed by students in the fall of 2013 and the results were weighted to represent students in all Colorado public high schools. The depression and suicide questions on the survey were stratified by student demographic characteristics. Differences between groups were evaluated using the Rao-Scott chi-square test and p-values less than one percent (p<0.01) were considered significant.   

RESULTS:  One in four (24.3 percent) Colorado high school students reported that they felt sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more during the past 12 months. Almost one-third of females (32.3 percent) reported that they felt sad or hopeless, significantly different compared to males (16.6 percent). One in seven (14.5 percent) students seriously considered attempting suicide in the past 12 months. Almost half (48.5 percent) of gay, lesbian, or bisexual students seriously considered suicide, significantly different compared to heterosexual students (11.7 percent). Among all high school youth, 6.6 percent actually attempted suicide. American Indian/Alaska Native (14.5 percent), multiple race (12.9 percent), African-American (9.3 percent), and Hispanic (7.8 percent) students were significantly more likely than White (5.2 percent) students to have attempted suicide.    

CONCLUSIONS:   Significant differences in feeling sad or hopeless, considering suicide, and attempting suicide were observed by sex, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Certain populations such as American Indian/Alaska Native youth, youth of multiple races, and gay, lesbian, or bisexual youth are at greater risk for depression and suicide. Youth suicide prevention efforts should be mindful of these specific populations. Public health departments should be encouraged to include a question to capture sexual orientation status on population-based surveys of youth to improve monitoring of health disparities.