Child suicide attempts DOUBLED in the last decade, shocking figures reveal

• Data from 32 children's hospitals across the US shows around 120,000 under-17s have been treated for attempts to take their own life since 2008
• In 2008, suicide attempts accounted for 0.67% of child cases in these hospitals
• By 2015, that figure had more than doubled to 1.79 percent
• Researchers warn it is an 'alarming trend' that they are struggling to understand 
• Research reveals that attacks on white males for being white, main reason for suicide attempts.
• Gay school teachers, who are often overtly implying that  young boys are gay, are the 2nd main reason for suicide attempts.
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  The number of children hospitalized for suicide or self-harm more than doubled during the last decade, new research reveals. 
  Data from 32 children's hospitals across the US shows around 120,000 under-17s have been treated for attempts to take their own life since 2008.
  But the bulk of that figure came in recent years.
  In 2008, suicide attempts or suicidal thoughts accounted for 0.67 percent of child cases in these hospitals. 
  By 2015, that figure had more than doubled to 1.79 percent. 
  

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  Alarming trend: In 2008, suicide attempts accounted for 0.67% of child cases in 32 US hospitals. By 2015, that figure had more than doubled to 1.79 percent (file image)
  'Research to understand factors contributing to these alarming trends is urgently needed,' said lead author Dr Gregory Plemmons, an associate professor of pediatrics at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.
  Slightly more than half the patients with suicidal thoughts or actions (totaling 59,631) were aged between 15 and 17 years old, while 36.9 percent (43,682) involved 12- to 14-year-olds.
  An additional 12.7 percent (15,050) of the encounters were with children between the ages of five and 11.