RATE OF TEEN DEATH BY ACCIDENT, HOMICIDE, AND SUICIDE (DEATHS PER 100,000 TEENAGERS AGES 15-19)

This indicator serves to measure the rate of teens that die from “preventable” causes each year. Specifically the indicator measures the rate of teens that die from accidents, are killed by others, or choose to end their own life.  Since the number of accidents is unlikely to very substantially from one year to another, this indicator is a good indicator of the rate of teens that die from violence (whether self induced or not) each year.  As a reflection of this circumstance, in previous editions of the KIDS COUNT Data book this variable was called the "Teen Violent Death Rate."

Throughout the 1990s the number of teens dying a violent death has been rapidly declining.  From the high of 71/100,000 in 1990, the rate of teens dying from accident, homicide and suicide had decreased to approximately 53 in 1999.  However, this improvement was not evident in all states.  New Mexico and Wyoming had the largest rate of teens dying from accidents, homicides, and suicides at over 85 deaths per year, whereas Hawaii led the United States with only 23 fatalities for every 100,000 teenagers annually.  Moreover, states in the mountain west: that is Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada have some of the highest rates in the country, while states in the Midwest and Northeast had rates lower then the national average.

Data for the indicator was obtained from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Health Statistics.  For more detailed citation please visit the KIDS COUNT web site and see the "Definition and Sources" page.

Figure 1: Violent Death Rates across United States, 1998.