Incidence of suicidal ideation and behavior in the United States, 1994

Completed suicides reflect only a portion of the impact of suicidal behavio r; sublethal behaviors cause morbidity and can signal treatable problems su ch as depression. There is no national quantification of nonlethal suicidal behaviors. The present study used a random-digit-dialed telephone survey t o estimate the 12-month incidence of suicidal ideation, planning, and attem pts among U.S. adults. Of 5,238 respondents, 5.6% (representing about 10.5 million persons) reported suicidal ideation, 2.7% (about 2.7 million) made a specific suicide plan, and 0.7% (about 700,000) made a suicide attempt (e stimate = 1.1 million attempts). Hence, suicidal behaviors are not uncommon and occur along a continuum ranging from ideation to completed suicides. P reventing nonlethal precursor behaviors may prevent deaths.