HR 2630119th CongressIn Committee

Youth Suicide Prevention Research Act

Introduced: Apr 3, 2025

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

Youth Suicide Prevention Research Act is a proposed amendment to the Advancing Research to Prevent Suicide Act. It directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) to expand its childhood suicide research to include two additional foundational areas: understanding the role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and understanding the role of toxic stress in childhood. In practical terms, this broadens the research agenda funded or coordinated under the existing suicide prevention act to place greater emphasis on early-life experiences and stress biology as factors influencing youth suicide risk. The bill also makes a minor statutory reorganization by renumbering subparagraphs to accommodate these new focus areas.

Key Points

1Adds two new focus areas: basic understanding of the role of adverse childhood experiences and basic understanding of the role of toxic stress in childhood.
2Expands the scope of NSF-supported research under the Advancing Research to Prevent Suicide Act to explicitly include ACEs and toxic stress as fundamental topics for childhood suicide prevention.
3Requires reordering of the statute’s subsections to insert the new items after the existing item (4) and renumbers the subsequent item (5) as (7).
4Maintains the overall goal of advancing research to prevent suicide, but with a clearer emphasis on early-life experiences and stress biology.
5The bill is introduced in the House, sponsored by Ms. Gillen (and Mr. Begich), and referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected: Children and youth at risk of suicide; researchers in child development, psychology, neuroscience, and public health; NSF as the implementing agency.Secondary group/area affected: Families, schools, pediatric and mental health providers, and communities involved in youth mental health and preventive services.Additional impacts: May influence research funding priorities, stimulate cross-disciplinary research on trauma and stress physiology, and inform prevention programs and policy discussions about early intervention and trauma-informed care.

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