Survey: Of every five girls in Duval County Schools, one has attempted suicide

Duval County Public Schools headquarters in Jacksonville.

Duval County Public Schools released on Thursday its 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, and the results show a student population experiencing profound struggles.

One major one is that of suicidal ideations.

The survey, which collected results from over 8,600 students in middle and high school, shows a full 20% of female middle school students in the county self-report having attempted suicide. Only 11% of males in the same cohort admit to the same.

Across ethnic groups of middle schoolers, there is similar variance, according to the survey.

Twenty percent of Asian and Hispanic middle school students polled report their own suicide attempts, compared to 15% of Black students and 13% of White students.

Meanwhile, more than one in four middle school girls surveyed report having planned to kill themselves, 27% of that cohort compared to 15% of males.

Asian and Hispanic middle school students in Duval, regardless of gender, were the most likely to plot their own suicides, with 24% of respondents saying they had. Only 21% of White students had made such plans, along with 18% of Black students.

Regarding the question of having “seriously considered suicide,” the numbers are even more stark, with nearly two in five female middle school students in Duval County saying they had.

Of male middle school students, 22% said they had considered such, a high number but not nearly at the 39% of young women who had said the same.

Asians and Hispanics, at 38% and 37% respectively, were the most likely ethnic groups to have self-reported the same. Of Black students, 30% reported having given the act serious consideration, and 23% of Whites reported likewise.

The high school numbers are even more stark, with 23% of high school females having considered suicide, and 19% having attempted it, putting that number, like middle school students, at a one in five ratio.

A full 27% of high school students seriously considered attempting suicide, with 19% having both planned and attempted the act. LGB students are nearly twice as likely to have attempted or planned suicide, with those numbers at a staggering 30 and 35% respectively.

Read the full survey here.