and the second-leading method for girls
(29%).1 Suicide attempts that involve a firearm usually
are fatal, because there is little chance for rescue. Firearms
in the home, regardless of whether they are kept
unloaded or stored locked, are associated with a higher
risk of completed adolescent suicide.7,8 In 1 study, when
firearms were present in the home, each of the practices
of securing the firearm (keeping it locked and unloaded)
and the ammunition (keeping it locked and stored away
from the firearm) were associated with reduced risk of
youth shootings that resulted in unintentional or selfinflicted
injury or death.9 Parents must be warned about
the lethality of firearms in the home and advised
strongly to remove them from the premises or, at least,
to secure them.10 Ingestion of pills is the most common
reported method of attempted suicide among adolescents.
11 However, the incidence of suicide attempts using
other methods, such as hanging, is not known, because
victims who do not die may not be brought for medical
treatment.11
Youth seem to be at much greater risk from media
exposure than adults and may imitate suicidal behavior
seen on television.12 Media coverage of an adolescent’s
suicide may lead to cluster suicides, with the magnitude
of additional deaths proportional to the amount, duration,
and prominence of the media coverage.12