Suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts are the most common mental health emergencies of adolescents (King et al. 2009b; Melzer-Lange and Lye 1997). This is not surprising given recent nationally representative data indicating that, in the preceding year, 14.5% of high school students seriously considered attempting suicide, 11.3% made a plan about how they would attempt suicide, 6.9% made one or more suicide attempts, and 2.0% were medically treated for a suicide attempt (CDC 2008). As a result, it is not unusual for parents of adolescents—and mental health professionals who work with adolescents—to be called upon to judge the level of an adolescent’s suicide risk and respond appropriately.
