Survey: D.C. eighth-graders try to take their own lives

Ten percent of eighth-grade students in the District said they had attempted suicide in the past year, blowing past the national average and highlighting the daunting task of improving the city’s middle schools. On the 2010 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey — given to 1,186 D.C. middle school students anonymously — 9.7 percent of eighth-graders said they had attempted suicide, nearly 30 percent said they had sexual intercourse, and 15 percent of students in grades six through eight reported belonging to a gang or crew in the past 12 months.

The 59-question survey is sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An additional 1,396 high school students took a 99-question version.