More than 650 children under the age of 12 killed themselves during the past twenty years. That's about 32 a month, but it translates to one a day in the United States.
Dr. Jeff Bridge was the lead researcher on the new study.
“Rates of suicide remained stable over a twenty year period for the whole population, but when we looked at subgroups what we found was that there was a decrease in the suicide rate among white children and a significant increase in suicide among black children,” Bridge explained.
Lead author Jeff Bridge says reasons for the disparity are unclear.
Bridge says a further study of suicide in young children is underway.
You can hear Marilyn Smith's conversation with Dr. Jeff Bridge.