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. 2023 Jan 18;9(1-4):11–23. doi: 10.1159/000529164

Table 1.

Prevalence of binary suicidal thoughts and behavior variables in COGA

Suicidal thought or behavior Description N total N affected
Non-suicidal self-injury Individuals were asked, “(Other than when you tried to take your own life) did you ever hurt yourself on purpose, for example, by cutting or burning yourself?” 6,434 571
Suicidal ideation Individuals were asked, “Have you ever thought about killing yourself?” 7,526 3,267
 Active ideation Individuals endorsing suicidal ideation were subsequently asked, “Did you have a plan? (Did you actually consider a way to take your life?)” 3,205 1,330
 Persistent ideation Individuals endorsing suicidal ideation were subsequently asked, “Did those thoughts persist for at least 7 days in a row?” 3,153 963
Suicide attempt Individuals were asked, “Have you ever tried to kill yourself?” 7,526 814
 More than one attempt Individuals who endorsed a suicide attempt were asked, “How many times (did you try to kill yourself)?” Affected individuals answered more than once 797 319
 Medical treatment after attempt Individuals who endorsed a suicide attempt were asked, “Did you require medical treatment after you tried to kill yourself?” 799 355
 Substance use prior to attempt Individuals who endorsed a suicide attempt were asked, “Did you try to kill yourself after you had been drinking?” and “Did you try to kill yourself after using drugs?” Affected individuals answered yes to either one or both of these questions 798 360
 Desire to die Individuals who endorsed a suicide attempt were asked, “Did you really want to die?” Affected individuals answered “maybe” or “yes” to this question 799 576
 Compounded suicide attempt Indented rows indicate nested questions, for example, data for active ideation were only collected on individuals endorsing suicidal ideation. 798 713

Indented rows indicate nested questions, for example, data for active ideation were only collected on individuals endorsing suicidal ideation.