Prevalence of specific suicidal behaviors in a high school sample.

Of 380 high school students who completed an anonymous survey concerned with their experience with suicidal behavior, 60% reported that they had thought about killing themselves. These thoughts varied with respect to persistence and planfulness. Almost 9% reported that they had actually made at least one attempt to kill themselves and over half of the suicide attempters reported at least two attempts. Fewer than half of the attempters reached the attention of mental health professionals. The data on family history of suicidal behavior suggest that the suicidal ideators and the suicide attempters represent overlapping groups.