The Frequency of Suicide Attempters: A Retrospective Approach Applied to College Students

Reported annual attempt rates may underestimate the cumulative prevalence of attempters since they ignore people whose sttempts occurred in yrs other than the 1 examined. The present study of the prevalence of suicide attempters, based on data gathered from retrospective reports of 293 college students, showed that 15% of the total sample reported having attempted at 1 time. This unexpectedly high rate suggests that suicidal behavior is a serious problem among college students. (26 ref)