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One in five Black US students left the suicide attempt question blank

Across 163,489 US high school students surveyed from 2001 to 2021, the suicide attempt question was left blank by 21.6% of Black adolescents and 7.1% of white adolescents.

Non-response to four suicide questions was measured in the US Youth Risk Behavior Survey from 2001 to 2021, covering 163,489 high school students. Overall, 13.9% left blank the question on injury from a suicide attempt, and blank answers to it rose 2.99% a year. That question was left blank by 25.8% of Black students against 9.7% of white students, with similar gaps for the attempt question.

Why it is interesting: Comparisons between groups in US adolescent suicide surveillance rest on questions left blank unevenly by race.

Source
Public Health, 17 September 2026
Paper
Trends in missing responses to suicide-related indicators among U.S. adolescents by race/ethnicity and sex, 2001-2021
Authors
Vélez-Grau C, Romanelli M, Baiden P, Lindsey MA
DOI
10.1016/j.puhe.2026.106497
Type
Peer-reviewed article
Design
Trend analysis of repeated cross-sectional national surveys, Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2001-2021, N = 163,489 US high school students
Verdict
New finding
Driver
Mental health
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