According to data released this year by the National Center for the Prevention of Youth Suicide, 4,630 Americans age 10 to 24 died by suicide in 2009. "Even though it's a difficult conversation, research has actually shown that having the conversation makes it less likely a student might take his or her own life," said Carrie Wachter Morris, an associate professor at Purdue University who focuses, in part, on crisis intervention.