Youth Suicides Continue to Rise in U.S.

The increase among older teens may be due, in part, to the languishing economy. "When the economy is bad, and jobs are harder to find, it's a tough time for kids who are trying to get a job," she said.

It's also harder to get into college and afford it, Zuckerman said. "So, for kids who are college-bound, there are those stressors," she said.

Zuckerman also thinks that untreated depression may play a role in the increase suicide rate.

But overall, she thinks that children are more isolated, even from their families, than ever before.

"Kids and family members are spending more and more time apart," she said. "Apart might mean being on the computer. Kids and their families are not watching TV together, they're not eating meals together, they are not talking to each other nearly as much."

"There is a lot of data that shows when families don't eat together, kids get into trouble. And trouble means drug use, alcohol use, sex and suicide," she said. "Parents need to be more involved in the decision-making process about what their kids are doing."

More information

For more on suicide, visit the National Institute of Mental Health.

SOURCES: Jeff Bridge, Ph.D., Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio; Diana Zuckerman, Ph.D., president, National Research Center for Women & Families, Washington, D.C.; Sept. 3, 2008,Journal of the American Medical Association