Mental Health Risks Within The Young Adult Population Essay

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.

The mental stability of college students has dropped to a staggering low, so low that 1 in 4 college students have reported that the have had suicidal thoughts and actions. That's just the amount that have reported that they are feeling suicidal. So many college students struggle with mental illness and receive no help or guidance in curing and dealing with their illnesses.

Feelings of isolation have been linked to higher suicide rates. Durkheim’s study on suicide during the industrial revolution supports this theory as he states that, “people were increasingly disconnected from their communities and that this social upheaval had a greater effect on suicide rates than other factors like wealth” (Winner & Collishaw, 2011). Interestingly enough, despite the increase of media attention on suicide, no studies have been published that explain why suicide rates vary among different groups. However, various factors are involved in the decision to commit suicide. As a result, suicide rates vary according to race, gender and age.

Suicide was seen as a just way to die if one was faced with unendurable suffering - be it physical or emotional”. Throughout time, suicide has been viewed and dealt with in countless ways. Recently in America, the problem has grown increasingly. In the past decade, suicide rates have been on the incline; especially among men. According to the New York Times (2013), “From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans ages 35 to 64 rose by nearly 30 percent… The suicide rate for middle-aged men was 27.3 deaths per 100,000, while for women it was 8.1 deaths per 100,000”. A 30 percent increase with an average of 19 more male suicides than female suicides is certainly an issue for both genders, and an epidemic for men. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (n.d.), found that in 2010, 38,364 suicides were reported, with 78.9% being men. The economic recession, unemployment, and various other factors are speculated to be responsible for this incline in male suicide. As of 2010, an estimated 30,308 men ended their own lives, and it seems as if there is a great risk of that number increasing each year.

Mental health among college students has been proven to be a relevant social issue that our society faces. There are certainly a few different institutions that play a large role within the development of this social issue. The first institution, and the primary institution at play with this issue, is the higher education system. In terms of mental health and having access to resources, college students haven’t always been as lucky as they are today. One study in 2007 explains the story of Junior at Syracuse University (Kravets, 3081). Anita Rutman had a history of mental health issues; she even found herself being admitted to a mental health hospital. One morning in February, she threw herself off of the eighth floor of Boland Hall and landed on a patio and fortunately lived. However, her attempt stemmed from the university sending her letter three days prior that informed Anita that the school was planning to dismiss her because of her suicidal tendencies (Kravets, 3081). Anita later sued Syracuse for ten million dollars for malpractice and negligence in handling her condition.

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.

Demographic attributes and psychopathology might add to self-destructive conduct, yet practices can likewise be impacted by interpersonal connections in particular settings (e.g., family) and more extensive social settings (e.g., working environments and neighborhoods). Dangerous variables for suicide might be ethnically remarkable relying upon social qualities, convictions, and standards. In this manner, a more profound comprehension of suicide in Asian Americans past demographics and psychopathology is crucial. Many Asian Americans do not ask for help, as it is looked on as “weak” in their society. Asian Americans are less likely to publically acknowledge their personal and/or psychological problems. They are also less likely to rely on any sort of mental health services. Instead, many are more likely to rely on culturally acceptable traditions of discipline and family order as a way to solve their underlying mental issues, such as depression (Lam, 2014).Journalist, Katherine Kam reported that “Family conflicts and academic failure loom large, but some have a family history of depression, which might make them genetically vulnerable.” She also states that “it doesn’t help that Asian parents, more than other groups, often reject professional diagnoses of their children’s depression and mental health. They fear that any mental problems will reflect badly on their son or daughter, as well as tarnish their entire lineage” (Lam, 2014). Many immigrants come from countries where mental illness is considered a low priority in the health care world. Treatments for mental health issues in many of these countries are nonexistent, and they believe people should over-come their problems on their own, through self-discipline and their own will power (Lam, 2014). When Asian Americans fall into illnesses such as depression, they are more likely to neglect and

Comprehensive Mental Health Services (CMHS) is an organization in Kansas City, Missouri dedicated to serving those with mental illnesses, ranging from both low- to high-functioning. This group has a for-profit and non-profit side. The for-profit side utilizes doctors, nurses, and a pharmacy to aide in the non-profit side. Case workers, therapists, addiction recovery, and group homes are all funded via the organization. With diverse staff involvement, CMHS has a multitude of positions ranging from full-time salary doctors, to full-time hourly case workers, to volunteers. Volunteers vary between other organizations that CMHS collaborates with, including Harvester’s food pantry, and even patients who want to donate their time to some of the less-fortunate. While those with mental illnesses are oppressed, this report is not about their oppression, rather their open-mindedness on the oppression of those around them.

One of the first causes of the suicide at the young people is depression. “According to a survey done using the psychological autopsy method, 70–90% of those who committed suicide had evidence of some mental disorder when alive, and 60–70% were depressed.” (TAKAHASHI, 2001) We consider that approximately 10 % of young adult know a period of depression, and that two thirds of them are females. “Women are twice as likely as men to have depression.” (D. Smith,

Mental health is a serious topic that is often not taken seriously. Due to my own struggles with depression, I have experienced the impact mental illness can have on a student’s life. Mental illness can make everyday life feel unbearable and can have just as serious of an effect on a person as a physical illness. The causes of increasing mental health problems in college students are numerous, and it will take work from both students and universities to overcome this problem, but change is necessary for the health of U.S. college students.

My topic is looking at the affluent youth portion of the population and their mental health needs versus non-affluent youth. My topic explores how they are affected by their social economic status and the effects consumption may have on our well-being. Furthermore, my topic touches upon how youth may process and express emotion. My first article is The Culture of Affluence: Psychological Costs of Material Wealth, this article consists of multiple studies. In the first study the sample size was 264 suburban white tenth grade students from white-collar families and 224 inner-city tenth grade youth mostly minorities and of low social economic status.

In this case study, researchers examined the geographic factors that associated with male suicide in United States. Researchers decided to study on the male suicide because over the past decade suicide death toll gradually increased. From 2000 to 2006, suicide was ranked as the eighth leading cause of death for men and eleventh leading cause of death in the United States. Male suicide rate was four times higher than the female counterpart. By 2009, more Americans died from suicide than from other cause of deaths. These high death tolls make the public to focus more on the study/investigation on suicide in America. The study used county level data between 2000- 2006 focusing on three variables, which included martial status, migration, and unemployment in America. The researchers believed that through understanding the connection between social

In research done by Carlton- Ford, Miller, Brown, Nealeigh, & Jennings (1995) they found that, “Epilepsy directly affects about 2.5 million individuals in the United States, and over half of the cases begin in childhood” (pg.283). This debilitating disorder can continue well into adolescent years and affect important developmental tasks. A human’s adolescent years are their crucial years to learn how to interact with family, friends, and education. An adolescent child who suffers from mental illness calls for thorough attention in those and many other areas of their life. The information provided should move parents to make sure that their child, who may suffer from a mental illness, is developing correctly at gradual increments.

Personal history, more precisely a previous suicide attempt, is the strongest risk factor for subsequent suicide death (AFSP, 2015; Biddle et al., 2012; De Leo, Draper, Snowdon, & Kõlves, 2013; WHO, 2014). Due to practicalities limit, it is impossible to include all robust variables associated with suicidal behavior. Consequently, this section only includes those risk factors shown to be associated with increased risk for lethal suicidal behavior, as this is the primary outcome of this study. Table 1 lists these risk factors and the nature of studies included in this section. This section will present a review of age, gender, race and ethnicity, prior suicidal behaviors, mental illness, physical illness, and alcohol use. Noted that this is not an exhaustive list of risk factors, however, these risk factors are the most empirical support factors for suicide. Since in most cases it is a combination of factors that leads to the choice of suicide, it will be artificial to deal with these factors in isolation. Hence, the interrelationship between various factors will be discussed in this section.

The mental health of adolescents is fairly considered to be one of the major prerequisites of the country 's sustainable development in economics, culture, and social life. Subsequently, the easy and nondiscriminatory access to the psychological treatment appears to be a matter of top priority for the federal government. Nevertheless, the recent statistical data indicates the substantial problems in terms of providing the adolescents with the necessary medical support. In accordance with the US Department of Health & Human Services, in 2014, less than 50% of the country 's adolescent population were provided with a required treatment (US Department of Health & Human Services). Moreover, the data on the minorities ' access to the mental health treatment demonstrates that, for instance, African-Americans are twice as likely as whites to be prescribed a treatment from schizophrenia (American Psychological Association). Undoubtedly, such a trend may be primarily explained by the insufficient efforts of both federal and local health care institutions in terms of providing the minorities ' representatives with the necessary psychological treatment. Consequently, in order to understand comprehensively the problem of the adolescent mental health in the US, it is necessary to define the issue-related objective and subjective concerns as well as to analyze the peculiarities of a potential corrective to the