Youth involved with the child welfare system (CWS) exhibit elevated rates of suicidal ideation. This study explores age-, sex-, and race-specific trends of suicidal ideation among 7-18-year-olds within the CWS. Utilizing data from all three versions of the National Survey for Child and Adolescent Well-Being (N = 5783), which included nationally representative samples of CWS-involved youth, we stratified the sample by age, sex, race, and ethnicity to observe subpopulation-specific trends. Our analysis estimated rates of self-reported suicidal ideation in each demographic stratum. Notably, we discovered that 7-10-year-old males and females reported higher rates of suicidal ideation (∼26%) than any other demographic group except 15-16-year-old females (∼27%). This trend was consistent across all racial and ethnic subgroups. Additional investigations are required to identify the causes of these elevated rates in younger children and to determine if this trend extends to children outside the CWS.
Keywords: adolescence; age differences; child welfare system; childhood; race/ethnicity; sex differences; suicidal ideation.