Parents Are Often Unaware of Adolescents' Thoughts of Suicide and Death

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents, and their rate of completed suicide appears to be rising. Previous studies with small or high-risk samples have shown an incongruence between parental and adolescent reports of adolescents' thoughts of suicide.

Researchers conducted in-person interviews with 5137 adolescents aged 11 to 17 years and their parents from a community-based pediatric health network in Philadelphia. They asked teenagers if they had ever thought about suicide or “a lot about” death or dying. The same questions were posed to the parents about their adolescents.

Eight percent of teens reported ever thinking about suicide and 15% ever thinking a lot about death or dying. Half of parents were unaware of thei…