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Suicide among preadolescents is a relatively rare phenomenon. Due to the infrequency of suicide among this population, this area of study has received limited investigation relative to suicide in other age groups and populations. This article reviews research related to suicide among preadolescents, defined as children under the age of 13. The nature/extent of the problem, risks/protective factors, prevention, intervention, and postvention are discussed. The article also reports on a brief empirical investigation whereby the authors attempted to collect suicide data on preadolescents from all 50 states. Implications for suicidologists and other human service professionals are described. An argument is made for examining issues related to preadolescent suicide separately from adolescent suicide. Researchers are encouraged to expand empirical research dealing with this topic and population.
Westefeld et al. (Tue,) studied this question.