Prevention, Intervention, And Treatment Options

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.

Suicide is a prevalent cause of death among America's youth today. Every day more than 1000 teenagers will think about suicide and eighteen will be successful in committing it. It is an ever-growing problem that can be described as unnecessary and uncalled for. Knowledge and understanding are key factors to preventing teenage suicide. The problem will usually originate from a period of depression, either as a medical concern, or simply because of a saddened

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 mental illness is handled in today’s society. Also, 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).

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.

Statistics show suicide to be the third leading cause of death among 13-19 year olds, with approximately 6000 suicide deaths each year (Dickinson 1999). Because of statistics like this, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) researchers are vying to find interventions to help prevent suicide among children and adolescents. However, until then, the best prevention appears to lie in early diagnosis

Suicides and attempted suicides have also increased among adolescents at an alarming rate in recent decades. Research findings suggest that the suicidal adolescent has usually had, since childhood, a history of stress and personal problems. Attempts to resolve these problems such as running away from home or an increasing social isolation, withdrawal and acting out, may precipitate an attempted suicide. Early professional help is often needed to prevent this drastic action. Sadly, when the signs are clear it is usually too late.

(2017). Preventing suicide: A technical package of policies, programs, and practices. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/suicideTechnicalPackage.pdf

There is too much teen suicide in the United States. Many teens who are depressed have mental issues such as depression, anxiety, bipolar, schizophrenia, etc. Often, teens who have these issues feel as if they don’t belong. They don’t feel like talking about certain things going on in their life. Issues regarding sexuality, bullying, and abuse make children feel hopeless and unwanted. They feel alone. The suicide rate has gone up dramatically. There are approximately 100,000 suicides per year and 10,000 to 20,000 of them being from ages 14 to 24. Suicide is also the 3rd leading cause of death for teens.

“For youth between the ages of 10 and 24, suicide is the third leading cause of death, approximately 4600 lives lost each year. Of the reported suicides in the 10 to 24 age group, 81% of the deaths were males and 19% were females. The top three methods used in suicides of young people include firearm (45%), suffocation (40%), and poisoning (8%)” (CDC, 2015). The school is not an easy step to take, and a lot of students suffer from anxiety attacks caused by stress and depression. Sadly, these students usually don’t seek help or maybe they just simply don’t know where to go for the help. “The costs of suicidal behaviors and the savings that can result from preventing these behaviors can help convince policymakers and other stakeholders that suicide prevention is an investment that will save dollars as well as lives” (SPRC, 2015).

Child and adolescent mental health problems are at a point of crisis for our nation. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has identified that one out of every ten children or adolescents has a serious mental health problem that interferes with daily functioning, and another 10% have mild to moderate problems and fewer than one in five of these children receive the mental health services they need. SAMHSA asserts that half of adult mental illness begins before the age of 14, and three-fourths before age 24. They go on to state that more than 40% of youth ages 13 to 17 have experienced a behavioral health problem by the time they reach seventh grade. Concluding that suicide is the third leading cause of death among youth ages 15 to 24 after accidents and homicide. The costs of failure to prove adequate services to children and adolescents with serious mental illnesses are well known: high rates of incarceration in juvenile facilities; family disruption; social isolation; school truancy and drop out; and

By creating programs that effectively reduce the number of suicides, costs will decrease, because in “2005, the estimated cost of suicide was more than $34.6 billion arising from 32,637 deaths and including medical costs and inferred lost work” (Caine 1). Thus, suicide is not only a personal problem anymore, but also a drastic national, economic issue, that needs more government attention. Better governmental legislation that provides effective prevention programs in high schools is a logical way to solve this problem, because “the school is a nexus for teen life and, therefore, uniquely poised as a context in which to address teen suicide” (Cooper 696). Furthermore, the government requires and regulates school attendance, so it is only reasonable that the government protects students from harm. However, current governmental legislation and prevention strategies aimed toward high school students have not made the necessary impact to combat rising suicide rates. Even after implementation of The New Freedom Commission, “there have been many suicide prevention programs that have been developed, but very few that show statistically significant effectiveness” (696). For example, “telephone crisis programs and drop-in centers have not reduced the suicide rates; widespread treatment for depression has not lessened suicide. In fact, suicide from tricyclic antidepressant medication has increased in the last few years” (Westermeyer 108). Therefore, these issues call for

Day to day, teens suffer from peer pressure, problem from home, and stress from academics. Despise their status in the environment, majority of high school students refrain from acknowledging the presence of their reality. The problem in most situations in that students feel shut in, trapped in a never ending misery. How do they cope? What are their ways of dealing? Most students live in denial. Others have friends to confide in. For the devastating part, most students are not as open to these ideas and it leaves them with this alternative: suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause in teens the ages 14 to 19 within rural underserved areas. Suicidal ideation (SI), suicidal thoughts, were surveyed in over 12 high schools and it was found that in the past year, thoughts of (SI) were not shared with peers or even adults in the pursuit of receiving help or support (Pisani, 2012). Because a student spends most of their day at school, it is ideal for schools to provide realistic opportunities and school-based programs to assist with the suicide among the youth. The Surviving the Teens Suicide Prevention and Depression Awareness Program designed four 50 minute session or each high school student. This presented information in regards to factual information about depression, suicidal warning signs, suicidal risk factors and myths associated with suicide (King, 2010). The program provide coping strategies for everyday life, referral sources if feeling suicidal, and how to recognize

Teen suicide is something that is endless, it will never stop but if everyone was educated on it, it could help prevent deaths. I think with people provided with statistics and further information can help avoid adolescent suicide attempts. I think most teen suicide cases could be prevent if we knew the signs to look for and the ways to stop it. I believe parents would feel safer if they knew knowledge on the issue and how to handle it. The intended audiences for this essay is parents or friends of suicidal teens. This essay is important because, as mentioned earlier, we need to be educated on suicide to end tons of tragedies. It is also important to be aware of the warning signs to help prevent. This essay is relevant because teen suicide is a war that happens daily, and will continue to happen, until we take control of the situation and do something to stop it. If family members were informed of the cause and symptoms leading up to the attempt of suicide, then there is less likely that teenagers would try and commit