Suicide Rate For Teenage Girls Hits 40-Year High

A new analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the rate of suicide among teenage girls hit a 40-year high in 2015.

Between 2007 and 2015, suicide rates for teenage boys and young men increased by over 30 percent and doubled among girls.

...The government has tracked numbers on suicide rates since 1975. In 1975, the suicide rate among females aged 15 to 19 sat at 2.9 per 100,000 before it increased to 3.7 per 100,000 in 1990. It then fell to 2.4 per 100,000 in 2007 before peaking at 5.1 per 100,000 in 2015.

For young men, the suicide rate declined from 18.1 per 100,000 in 1990 to 10.8 per 100,000 in 2007 before reaching 14.2 per 100,000 in 2015.

According to the CDC, 5,900 kids and adults aged 10 to 24 died by suicide in 2015.

A recent study claims that suicide-related searches online multiplied because of "13 Reasons Why."Netflix series "13 Reasons Why" is drawing a lot of attention following the release of a study that claims it is tied to the recent increase of suicide searches online.

The research paper, which was published in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal, posits that the show's graphic depiction of suicide poses a risk to young people who struggle with mental health issues. According to John W. Ayers, lead author and research professor at San Diego State University, online researches relating to suicide had dramatically increased since "13 Reasons Why" premiered in March.

For example, the study revealed that the search phrase "how to commit suicide" was up 26 percent than normal, while "suicide prevention" rose by 23 percent. The phrase "suicide hotline number," on the other hand, went up 21 percent. The data was gathered using Google search.

Ayers said the show definitely raised awareness on the sensitive issue, considering how thousands of people have been using the Web to search for ways "to kill themselves."

"13 Reasons Why" is based on Jay Asher's novel of the same title that follows the story of a teenager named Hannah Baker (played by Katherine Langford). Before she committed suicide, she left 13 cassette tapes addressed to specific people who allegedly pushed her to end her own life. The show has already been renewed for season 2.

In a statement from Netflix that was given to CNN, the company said that they have taken into consideration all the possibilities before airing the series.

The show was rated TV-MA. And when episodes 9, 12 and 13, which had explicit contents, aired, Netflix included specific warnings at the beginning of each episode.

Before "13 Reasons Why" debuted, the company also launched a website (13ReasonsWhy.info) with links to different suicide helplines. Several mental health professionals and doctors were also consulted by the executive producers to guide them on the best storytelling approach on the sensitive topics featured.

After 6 years waiting to find the perfect Hannah and Clay for @13reasonswhy I couldn't be luckier we cast these two 💜

A post shared by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on Feb 8, 2017 at 12:18pm PST

"We stayed very true to the book and that's initially what [author] Jay Asher created was a beautifully tragic, complicated yet suspenseful story and I think that's what we wanted to do," Gomez told the Associated Press. "We wanted to do it justice and, yeah, [the backlash is] gonna come no matter what. It's not an easy subject to talk about, but I'm very fortunate with how it's doing."

Gomez has also explained that she hopes the series will help teens start a dialogue about important issues.

"I believed in the project for so long and I understood what the message was," she told E! Online at WE Day. "I just wanted it to come across in a way that kids would be frightened, but confused—in a way that they would talk about it because it's something that's happening all the time. So, I'm overwhelmed that's it's doing as well as it's doing."