July 26, 1999

Utah has the 10th highest suicide rate in the country, and state health officials want to know why.

Suicide is the leading cause of death for Utah males between the ages of 15 and 44.

Family Specialist Shelley Osterloh reports on the state's efforts to understand suicide and find ways to prevent it.

A counsellor talks to a group of teenagers about suicide. Some admit they've thought about killing themselves.

The statistics of those that do, are startling.

In the last four years, 162 young people took their own lives.

80% of them were males.

Utah has consistenly had one of the highest suicide rates in the country.

Trisha Keller, the manager of Utah Health Department Injury Prevention says, "A lot of people have theorized that it's becauase we have greater access to guns than the eastern states do. Some people think perhaps the kids are under more stress for some reason... but we just don't know."

To find out, the State Health Department is conducting a study that includes interviews with family and friends of some 60 suicide victims.

The study will be completed by September. Researchers say the reasons for suicide are complex, but preliminary results suggest some common threads:

65% of victims had trouble with the law and were invovled some how with the juvenile justice system.

41% needed social services, such as financial assistance or treatment for sexual abuse.

40% were expelled from school.

Researchers hope to use the information to target those at risk.

Jennifer Achilles, a researcher for the Injury Prevention program says, "For instance, we may be able to start screening kids that are invovled in juvenile justice, see what kids fit a specific profile for suicide and get them into treatment."