Effect Of Suicide Screening Assessments On Determining Suicide Risk

In the United States, suicide is the third-leading cause of death for 10 to 14-year-olds (CDC, 2015) and for 15 to 19-year-olds (Friedman, 2008). In 2013, 17.0% of students grades 9 to 12 in the United States seriously thought about committing suicide; 13.6% made a suicide plan; 8.0% attempted suicide; and 2.7% attempted suicide in which required medical attention (CDC, 2015). These alarming statistics show that there is something wrong with the way suicide is handled in today’s society. In order to alleviate the devastating consequences of teenage suicide, it is important to get at the root of what causes it all: mental illness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (2013), mental illness is the imbalance of thinking, state of mind, and mood. Approximately 90% of all suicides are committed by people with mental illnesses (NAMI, n.d.). This shows that there is a correlation between mental illness and suicide. If mental illnesses are not treated, deadly consequences could occur. It would make sense that if there is a correlation between mental illness and suicide across all ages, the same should be thought for adolescents. Approximately 21% of all teenagers have a treatable mental illness (Friedman, 2008), although 60% do not receive the help that they need (Horowitz, Ballard, & Pao, 2009). If mental illnesses are not found and treated in teenagers, some of them may pay the ultimate price.

Suicide has been rising at alarming rates; the overall suicide rate for children and adolescents has increased over 300% since the 1950s. (Miller, 2009) Adolescent children are screaming out for our help, are we just ignoring the signs or do we not care? For young people, an average 1,800 take their own lives and 85,000 are hospitalized for attempts nationally (CDC, 2008). With this kind of statistics we need to step in and take some action.

To many people, these facts are certainly frightening because no one wants people to commit suicide, especially not children who have their entire lives ahead of them. There are many programs that have tried remedying this issue multiple times, such as the Youth Suicide Prevention Program (YSPP), National Center for the Prevention of Youth Suicide (NCPYS), and Youth Aware of Mental Health (YAM). However, as suicide rates continue to rise, it is obvious that there needs to be more done in order to treat mental illnesses and suicidal behavior in children and teenagers.

The rate of suicide, the act or an instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally, increases each year. “More adolescents die each year from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease, combined” (Preventing Teen Suicide, 2016, p.2). These facts show suicide is a serious problem among teens. Last year, teen suicide became the second leading cause of death in the United States confirming the significant increase in teen suicides.

According to Fowler, Crosby, Parks, and Ivey (2013), suicide and nonfatal suicidal ideations are significant public health concerns for adolescents and young adults. While the onset of suicidal behaviors is observed as young as six years of age, rates of death and nonfatal injury resulting from suicidal behavior are moderately low until 15 years of age (Fowler et al., 2013). According to Fowler et al (2013), the most current available statistics in the United States (U. S.) reported suicide as the third leading cause of death among youth aged 10-14 and 15-19 years, and it was the second leading cause of death among persons aged 20-24 years.

Healthy People 2020 is a government site that identifies health concerns based on statistics observed and collected over a ten-year period. Mental Health and Mental Disorders is one of the many health concerns or topics listed on their website and has been further subcategorized into objectives and goals (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], 2015). The first objective listed under this topic states “reduce the suicide rate” (HHS, 2015). The goal of this objective is to “reduce the suicide rate by ten percent” (HHS, 2015). Suicide is prevalent among varying age groups, ethnicities, and genders (HHS, 2012). It is an increasing problem prompting Healthy People 2020 to label it as a Leading Health Indicator or an extremely important issue (HHS, 2015). To meet their goal, Healthy People 2020 partnered with the U. S. Surgeon General and the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (NAASP) to create a plan that can be utilized throughout the nation. Their plan focuses on removing the stigma associated with mental health and mental health disorders while simultaneously building supportive communities with increased access to care, creating a standardized model promoting the collaboration of health care professionals in order to increase identification and data collection of high-risk patients and provide continuity of care, and ensuring the education and the adequacy of patient support systems.

There is at least 113 suicides each day or 1 every 13 minutes. Suicide among males is the seventh leading cause of death and the fourteenth leading cause in females. Most suicides are with a firearm and are carried out with a “ Saturday night special”. (Dilaura,Cynthia DiLaura) “More than 90 percent of suicide attempts with a gun are fatal. “ (Brady Campaign) There are a number of reasons why suicide occurs. Stress is the number one cause among our youth, bullies, peer pressure, depression, and abuse. 41,100 people committed suicide in the United States in 2013. Our young teens today does not take time to look deeper into there problem and to seek out a better solution. They are looking for a quick fix but not realizing once the trigger is pulled the result is final with no turning back. Most people who has attempted suicide is more likely to try a second attempt and most have an underlying mental illness. There is many warming that someone may be in a suicide crisis. We most learn how to see things through their eyes. No matter what one is facing in life or the difficult that lie ahead of them Nothing is worth taken your own

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 10-24 (Scallan and Allick). Mental health screenings can help show the signs of a person who is having suicidal thoughts. In recent years, there has been a mass quantity of debate regarding whether or not mental health screenings for teenagers should be provided in schools. To most, mental health screenings in schools are an invasion of privacy. However these mental health screenings provide the help teens with suicidal tendencies need. Many students will not go and get help if they are feeling depressed, through these screenings it will help provide teens with someone that will help them. While some believe that mental health screenings are an invasion of privacy, mental health screenings

Throughout their education, children sit through countless bullying and sex education programs, but suicide, the third leading cause of adolescent deaths (Caine 1), is practically ignored. Many schools only offer hot lines for suicidal students. While some schools have implemented suicide prevention programs and the government has recognized teenage suicide as a growing problem, effective solutions need to be discovered and funded to prevent these catastrophic deaths. The U.S. federal government should develop and fund suicide prevention programs in high schools, while focusing on strategies ranging from coping mechanisms to drug intervention and screening methods.

Teen suicide is one of the largest problems facing America at the moment, and it will only become worse if the country does not come up with a solution. “According to the American Psychiatric Association, suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people between eleven and eighteen years of age (Teen Suicide).” American families can not keep losing sons and daughters to this entirely preventable epidemic. The largest issue with teen suicide is that Americans are using largely outdated and/or ineffective strategies in dealing with teen suicide, and Americans need to realize that this problem will not just go away. Using the old methods, such as telling teens to toughen up, are clearly not working and in some cases are contributing to the problem. Teen suicide is alarmingly on the rise and “According to the CDC, 5,504 people ages 10 to 24 died by suicide in 2014, the most recent year in which statistics are available. The figure was up from the grim 2013 tally of 5,264, and the number has risen every year and up 13 percent from 2010 (Corbin).” There are several causes for teen suicide that range from depression to concussions, and for each cause there are several proposed solutions to suicide or its causes, but many of the solutions will cause more problems instead of solving current ones, Americans need to utilize effective suicide prevention strategies and ignore the useless and outdated ones.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people in the United States. Each year 20% of adolescents think of committing suicide, and between 5% and 8% attempt suicide. (J. McWhirter, B. McWhirter , E. McWhirter, R. McWhirter, 2007.p.255). Therefore, it is important to have programs that prevent adolescent suicidal behavior. (McWhirter, 2007. p.256). In recent years, nearly 5,000 persons’ death certificates showed that they were at the ages between 15 and 24. Suicide attempts affect more girls than boys, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (McWhirter, et al., 2007.p.256). Additionally, in 2006, “11.5% of girls and nearly 5.5% of boys” try to commit suicide in the previous 12 months (McWhirter et al., 2007. p. 256). This number grows dramatically among distressed adolescents and even more dramatically for juvenile offenders (McWhirter et al., 2007. p. 256). Every year, nearly 150,000 youth between the ages of 10 and 24 are treated for self-inflicted injuries (McWhirter et al., 2007. p.256). In every secondary school classroom, it is common that

For every one suicide that is completed, there are twenty-five attempts (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 2015). Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death, overall in americans, of all ages (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 2015). Statistics show just how big this problem is, especially with the stigmas that are associated with suicide, and mental health issues in society today. When a person commits suicide, the community surrounding that person will all struggle with coping, and how to further prevent the situation from happening to other people. The cost alone for suicide deaths and attempts is very large number, and so are the mortality rates, and prevalence. There is a plethora of statistical evidence proving that the issue of suicide is overwhelming for all ages, across racial boundaries and affect many Americans daily. White, middle-aged men are the most prevalent to commit suicide and be successful, but young adolescents are more likely to attempt suicide (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 2015).

Each year, one out of thirteen teens age nineteen and under attempts suicide (Preface). Personally, that is more than enough teens choosing to take their lives each year. It isn’t really easy to figure out why some teens choose to take their lives. Suicide is a multi-faceted issue, sometimes an act of courage, sometimes an act of selfishness, sometimes a brave choice in the face of pain, and sometimes an act of fondness. It is important to understand why some choose to take their lives and some ways that in school and out of school we as individuals are able to help those in need.

Adolescents are an important group for every society and country. Each year unfortunately, thousands of adolescents are dying, not from cancer or car accidents, but by their own hands. They make the choice to take their lives. There are many laws and regulations promoting healthy lifestyles for adolescents within the United States. Adolescence is a period of physical and psychological change for teenagers. The central theme of the adolescent individual focuses on identity development, creating one’s value system, and accomplishing life goals. Adolescents have many psychological and social problems. Psychological problems consist of depression, stress, and anxiety. Social problems include social networks such as family, friends, and the academic setting. This period includes notable negative behaviors such as suicide attempts and alcohol and drug use. The number of teenagers who take their lives is rapidly increasing each year. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDS), suicide is the third-leading cause of death among U.S. adolescents. Overall, suicide ranks as the 11th leading cause of death among the American population (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2006). Suicide attempts occur in different age groups; however, suicide attempts are more common among adolescents than other age periods. The number of youths, ranging from ages ten to 14 committing suicide has been of particular concern, with suicide rates increasing 51% between 1981 and

Suicide has become an extremely important social issue in our society. Did you know that suicide rate is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States according to the A.F.S.P (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention)? Teen suicide rates continue to increase every year according to statistics. Today, teens are having mental struggles that can affect their everyday lifestyle and they can’t seem to find anyone to tell their problems to. They find that committing suicide is the answer to their problems because majority of teens suffer from drug abuse, relationship problems, and the biggest issue; depression. Suicide is a major issue, but has so many