Report: Suicide Now the Second-Leading Cause of Death Among America’s Teenagers
Risk Factors Include Abuse, Bullying, Being LGBT – Firearms Are the Second Leading Method of Suicide
Editor’s note: This article is being published to help our readers become more aware of the risk factors associated with suicide in the hope of helping reduce and prevent it. See the list of resources at the bottom for more.
Suicide is now the second leading cause of death among teenagers, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released Monday, which updates guidelines to pediatricians for helping teens manage risk factors for suicide. In 2007, suicide was the third leading cause of death among teens.
A USA Today article also published Monday, “Pediatricians urged to screen for suicide risks among teens,” notes, “Christine Moutier, chief medical officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the nation’s largest suicide prevention network, commends the report for shining light on the pediatricians’ role in having the right conversations with patients about mental health and providing practical examples of how to ask the right questions that keep adolescents engaged.”
Suicide risk factors listed include a history of physical or sexual abuse, mood disorders, drug and alcohol use, self-harm, being LGBT, and bullying, including cyberbullying.
Firearms in the home may also increase risk of suicide, and the AAP recommends that the families of at-risk teenagers remove any guns stored in the house. Firearms were the second leading method of suicide, increasing risk of completed suicide attempts no matter how they are stored.
USA Today adds, “Ben Shain, author of the report and head of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at NorthShore University HealthSystem, says suicide rates may have increased due to the stresses and anger levels induced by electronic media and a reluctance to use antidepressant medication.”
In fact, frequent internet use was also strongly associated with a higher risk of suicide. Staying online more than five hours per day correlates with an increased risk for depression and suicidal thoughts and actions, although social networking sites mitigate this risk by providing greater social support.
Pediatricians should be looking for other health concerns, including typical symptoms of mental health issues like negative feelings, fatigue, and insomnia, as well as behavioral problems and physical symptoms like chest pain, headaches, weight loss, and lack of energy.
Additionally, learning about another person’s suicide can be a risk factor for people already at risk.
Adolescent girls have a higher rate of attempted suicide than boys, but boys have a success rate nearly three times as high as girls. According to the AAP, this is because girls choose less lethal methods than boys do.
The report also gives guidelines for doctors to help struggling teens. Suicide screening should include questions about symptoms of depression, as well as asking about risk factors and past attempts. Screening was not found to correlate with suicidal thoughts; in other words, asking teenagers about suicidal thoughts does not cause them to have suicidal thoughts, even if they are already at risk. Screening should also be done without a parent present, although parents should be given information to help their child if they are at risk.
The AAP also addresses the black box warning associated with antidepressant medications. The FDA requires labels on medications that were found to lead to an increased risk in suicidal thoughts and behavior through clinical trials. Although, as the AAP report says, “Subsequent studies have addressed the validity of the black-box warning and suggest that, for appropriate youth, the risk of not prescribing antidepressant medication is significantly higher than the risk of prescribing.†The FDA has not changed its guidelines on the black box warning, and the AAP guidelines say that the warning should be discussed when medication is prescribed.
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If you or someone you know is considering suicide, there are many people available to help. Call 911 if there is an immediate risk.Â
You can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, or call them at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
States offer federally-funded free or low-cost mental health services. Use the SAMSHA locator or call 1-800-662-4357.
The Trevor Project helps LGBTQ young people 13-24. Visit them online or call 1-866-488-7386. The Trevor Project is also on Twitter and Facebook.
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Image by justine-reyes via Flickr and a CC license
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Another prominent House Republican from Georgia will retire, adding to the mass exodus Speaker Mike Johnson is seeing under his leadership.
U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) announced on Wednesday that he will not seek re-election. Loudermilk was first elected to Congress in 2014. He is the fourth Georgia Republican not seeking re-election, and joins (former) U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), and U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA).
Loudermilk become the thirtieth House Republican to retire or seek a different office, according to the U.S. House Casualty List.
Last week, Cook Political Report’s Dave Wasserman reported: “Today, we only see 18 out of 435 races as toss-ups, but Republicans would need to win two-thirds of the toss-up column to hold their House majority.”
He suggested that Democrats are “modest favorites” to regain the House majority.
Speaker Mike Johnson’s margin over House Democrats is so thin that he directed Republican lawmakers to “take vitamins” in January.
According to Politico, “Republicans will expect to retain Loudermilk’s seat in suburban Atlanta in November, which he won by 34 points in 2024.”
Image via Reuters
A rare White House event turned awkward and was ultimately shut down after First Lady Melania Trump faced pointed questions about using the White House to promote her documentary, “Melania,” and about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s partner and accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
The first lady was meeting with the freed American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, and his wife, Aviva Siegel.
According to The Daily Beast, “things took an unfortunate turn when reporters took the opportunity to ask questions, setting their sights on the first lady’s box office debut and Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is now serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted for abusing young girls.”
Asked whether she felt it was appropriate to use the White House to promote her film, the first lady dismissed the question.
“It is not promotion,” she said. “We are here celebrating the release of the hostage; of Aviva and Keith. They were in Washington, D.C., and they said they would like to come over to thank me and to give hugs. There’s nothing to do with promotion.”
A reporter then waded into the Epstein controversy.
“There’s a call from Epstein survivors to have Ghislaine Maxwell moved to a high security prison. What do you want to happen,” they asked, which prompted her staff to try to end the press conference immediately.
“Thank you, press,” a staffer said, as the First Lady responded, “We are here celebrating the release and the life of those two incredible people, so let’s honor that.”
According to The Daily Beast, Melania Trump appears in the Epstein files, including in a “chummy” 2002 email to Maxwell, signed “Love, Melania.”
“Dear G! How are you?” it says. “Nice story about JE in NY mag. You look great in the picture.”
Wow Melania Trump gets a Ghislaine Maxwell question
Melania Trump: We are here celebrating the life of these two incredible people. pic.twitter.com/2nbsPV7mOA
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 4, 2026
Image via Reuters
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent faced a heated confrontation with a Democratic lawmaker and acknowledged that his earlier congressional testimony may have been mistaken.
His error, Bessent insisted — despite the view of many economists — was his claim that he had not said “tariffs are inflationary.”
“Earlier,” The New York Times reported, “he had denied having written to his hedge fund investors in 2024 that tariffs are inflationary. Presented with his exact words, however, he said that he was wrong to deny making those comments and that he had been wrong at the time about tariffs and inflation.”
U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) read from a letter Bessent wrote in 2024 — before Trump won the White House.
“I want to read you a quote,” Casten began. “‘Trump will pursue a weak dollar policy rather than implementing tariffs. Tariffs are inflationary and would strengthen the dollar.’ Do you recognize that quote?”
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“I believe you’re referring to a letter that I wrote, and tariffs could be inflationary,” Bessent replied.
“No, no,” Casten insisted. “It says ‘tariffs are inflationary.'”
Casten then asked, “Do you want to correct what you said to the ranking member when you specifically said that you did not say tariffs are inflationary?”
“You said tariffs are inflationary,” Casten continued, after having to repeat himself.
“Do you want to correct what you said to the ranking member? Or did you lie?” Casten then pressed.
“If I was mistaken, I want to correct it,” Bessent said. “And I was also mistaken when I said the tariffs could be inflationary, because — we’ve seen inflation drop to 2.1 percent.”
Many economists say that tariffs are inflationary because they function as a tax, in this case, largely on American firms and consumers.
According to HuffPost, Trump’s $181 billion tariff increase “ranks as the 13th biggest tax hike since before World War II.”
Casten: You said tariffs are inflationary. Do you want to correct what you said to the ranking member, or did you lie?
Bessent: If I was mistaken, I want to correct it. I was also mistaken when I said tariffs could be inflationary. pic.twitter.com/yibPo4HAGZ
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 4, 2026
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