Suicide and the gifted adolescent

Abstract

This preliminary study examines factors in suicidal behaviors among gifted adolescents. Surveys were sent to school counselors in 129 high schools representing districts with a broad ethnic base. Information re-garding any suicide-related occurrence was requested without any specific reference to the gifted being made. From a total student population of 40,805, there were 42 reports of suicide-related occurrences. Adolescents identified as gifted comprised 19 % of these occurrences, or eight cases. Of the eight, five were reported as gifted underachievers, two were in ad-vanced placement classes, and two were in programs formally designated as gifted programs. None was a completed suicide. Variables considered in this study included sex, race, family status, extracurricular activity, na-ture of the attempt, and whether students were receiving professional help or had talked to friends about suicide. The conclusion is that, although these preliminary findings must be viewed with caution, they appear to support the mounting concern regarding suicide among gifted youth. Any suicide is a waste. Young suicides are particularly tragic, since they have really never lived.... Right now too manyado-lescents are looking at us and our world and deciding that they either cannot or do not want to be like us or be part of our world. (Maris, 1985, p. 108). From the fourth leading cause of death in the 15- to 19-year age group in 1975 (Toolan, 1975), suicide has moved to third, with a rise of 237 % between 1960 and 1980 (Maris, 1985). Suicide now ac-counts for 18.8 % of deaths in the 15- to 24-year age group (Lewis, 1986), and is currently the second leading cause of death for the combined adolescent and young adult group (Simmons, 1987). Pfef-fer (1986) and Rickgarn (1987) have presented analyses of the epide