Self-Inflicted Injuries (Three-Year Average)

Data Provider: NYS Department of Health

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Related Indicators:

• Self-Inflicted Injuries-Hospitalizations 10-14 yrs [view data]
• Self-Inflicted Injuries-Hospitalizations 15-19 yrs [view data]
• Self-Inflicted Injuries-Suicide Mortality 10-19 yrs [view data]

Life Area:

Physical and Emotional Health

Definition:

The hospitalizations resulting from self-inflicted injury rate is based on the number of hospitalizations for self-inflicted injuries per 100,000 youth ages 10 to 14 years and 15 to 19 years. Since hospitalizations resulting from self-inflicted injuries are relatively rare events in many counties, the numbers and rates are presented as three-year averages.

Suicide mortality is the number of self-inflicted deaths. The annual number of these deaths per 100,000 youth aged 10 to 19 years is the suicide mortality rate. Since suicide is a relatively rare event in many counties, the numbers and rates are presented as three-year averages.

Significance:

In New York State, suicide is the third leading cause of death for youth ages 10 through 19 years. Self-inflicted injury hospitalizations is an important indicator of suicide "attempts" and mental health status.

Note:

Three-year averaging improves the reliability of the data in counties with small populations where slight variations in the number of children hospitalized for self-inflicted injuries or suicides can result in large fluctuations in their annual rates.

Findings:

• New York State youth ages 15 to 19 years are hospitalized for self-inflicted injuries five times more frequently than youth ages 10 to 14 years.
• In New York State, while the average number of hospitalizations resulting from self-inflicted injuries increased slightly among youth aged 15-19 years from 1,309 in 2003-2005 to 1,331 in 2008-2010, the rate declined slightly from 100.9 to 97.5 per 100,000 youth ages 15-19 years. Among youth ages 10 to 14 years, self-inflicted hospitalizations decreased from 337 (25.3 per 100,000 youth ages 10-14 years) in 2003-2005 to 217 (18.0 per 100,000) in 2008-2010.
• In 2008-2010, youth ages 15 to 19 years living in counties outside New York City were more likely to be hospitalized with self-inflicted injuries (109.2 per 100,000) than were youth living in New York City (78.2 per 100,000). The same trend held true for youths aged 10 to 14. Self-inflicted injury hospitalizations among youth ages 10 to 14 years were more prevalent in Rest of State (20.2 per 100,000) than in New York City (14.6 per 100,000).
• The suicide mortality rate in New York State among 10 to 19 year olds has declined. The rate fell from 2.6 per 100,000 in 2003-2005 to 2.4 per 100,000 in 2008-2010. The suicide mortality rate was higher in Rest of State as compared to New York City for both time periods.