Suicide gender gap is vanishing among tweens and young teens
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
Suicide death rates among 10- to 14-year-old girls and boys nearly evened out from 2018 to 2024, according to new research published this week.
Why it matters: The research found that suicide death rates between boys and girls nearly evened out during the years analyzed, bucking previous data showing boys had higher suicide death rates, though girls think about and attempt suicide more often.
- Suicide was the second leading cause of death among 10- to 14-year-olds from 2018 to 2024, according to the study, published in JAMA Pediatrics.
The big picture: Boys had double the suicide death rate of girls in this age group in 2017, but by 2024, the rate for boys was only 4% higher, the study found.
- The gap closed as suicide death rates for boys decreased 35% from 2018-24, while rates for girls grew 13%.
- The report's results suggest that suicide prevention programs for younger kids should equally consider the evolving risk factors affecting both boys and girls.
- It's not clear exactly which risk factors are driving the trend.
What they're saying: "It is a bit of a mystery," psychologist Jean Twenge, the author of the research, tells Axios.
- She hypothesized that it's possible girls were not adequately reached when suicide prevention programs first began growing in schools, causing a "discrepancy in the impact."
- She added that girls have always faced pressures and bullying related to beauty standards, but young girls now have access to unachievable physical standards and social media at a younger age than previous generations.
- "We know from a lot of research that the association between time spent on social media, depression, self-harm, and other mental health issues is stronger for girls than for boys, and girls also spend more time on social media."
By the numbers: Suicide death rates for 10- to 14-year-old girls more than quadrupled between 2007 and 2024, while the rate for boys nearly doubled.
- The suicide death rate for girls rose from 0.51 per 100,000 in 2007 to 2.28 per 100,000 in 2024.
- For boys, the death rate rose from 1.20 to 2.38 per 100,000 over the same period.
Zoom in: The share of Black girls who died by suicide actually exceeds the rate for Black boys in 2024, and a similar shift occurred in suburban and urban areas.
- Twenge noted that other research she has studied found that Black and Latina girls have the highest rates of social media use, which could be contributing to the trend.
- The gap was less pronounced in rural areas, where boys still died by suicide at higher rates.
Zoom out: Suicide death rates for 18–27-year-olds increased in most states between 2014 and 2024, rising nearly 20%, according to CDC data.
- That's an increase from 13.8 suicides per 100,000 people to 16.4.
- The rise was driven primarily by Black and Hispanic men in the South and Midwest.
The bottom line: September is Suicide Prevention Month — and it's clear more research is needed, because old assumptions about who's at risk and why may no longer match reality.
If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. The hotline is open 24/7 365 days a year. Ayuda disponible en español.
Go deeper: Young adult suicide rates are rising almost nationwide
