Scientific American: Psychology

In 2009, suicide emerged as the leading cause of death from injury in the United States, surpassing rates for homicide and traffic accidents (Rockett et al., 2012). Researchers examine suicide rates across gender, age, and ethnicity in order to better understand risk factors and to help develop suicide prevention strategies. Let’s take a look at what this means—and what you can do if a friend or family member might be contemplating suicide.