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.