CHICAGO (AP) -- Suicides by young children are rare and the low rate has held mostly stable for two decades except for a troubling increase among black boys.

Bullying
mandygodbehear, ThinkStock
loading...

A new study found that from 1993 through 2012, there were 657 suicides among children aged 5 through 11. Most were 10 or 11.

The overall rate for young kids was just over 1 per million. But for black boys, it went from less than 2 per million to almost 3.5 per million. There was a slight decline among white boys, to 1.3 per million.

Lead author Jeffrey Bridge says reasons for the disparities are uncertain. He's a suicide researcher at the Research Institute of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

The study was published online Monday in JAMA Pediatrics.

 

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM