Social Issues in Hong Kong Teen Suicide

It is not uncommon to hear stories about a teenager experiencing mood swings and rebelling against those in authority. Nor is it uncommon to experience general sadness or anxiety in high school and college. However, it is often difficult to tell the difference between normal teenage angst and clinical depression. It is not commonly known that there has recently been a staggering rise of depression in adolescents. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, one in twelve adolescents in the United States suffer from depression, which is 8.3 % of the teenage population. In order to combat the problem of adolescent depression, it is essential that parents take an active role in their adolescent’s life by both acknowledging and

Adolescence is popularly known to be a very tumultuous stage in a person’s life. In the adolescent stage (also coined the identity vs. role confusion stage by theorist Erik Erikson) bodies are changing rapidly, emotions are unfamiliar and unexplainable, and refraining from succumbing to peer pressure is more challenging than ever.

In order to illustrate a key stage in the life course, I will be looking at the area of adolescence because I believe that this is one of the most critical life stages, with so many immense transitions young people go through. I have chosen to focus on adolescence because of a commitment to working with these vulnerable individuals aged from 14 to 19. We can no doubt all reflect on wrong choices we felt we made in our adolescence, and how our education and employment prospects may have benefited from good advice at this crucial juncture in life. I want to be able to guide vulnerable adolescents in the right direction and help them make the right choices, by understanding their needs, and supporting them in practical ways to live fulfilling and independent lives. From personal experience, I sincerely believe that with the right kind of guidance and attention, troubled teenagers can get back on track.

Adolescence is a critical time of development. During this period there are significant changes in brain development, emotions, cognition, behavior, and personal relationships. It is during this time that most major mental health disorders appear, many of which carry over into adulthood. Behavior patterns such as substance abuse also often develop during this time and may continue throughout adulthood. Many adolescents struggling with mental health issues begin to exhibit symptoms such as acting out at home or in school, showing a decreased interest in activities that they previously enjoyed, or bringing home poor grades. Others ultimately are charged with offenses ranging from status

In this paper I plan to discuss the developmental stages of adolescence. Adolescents are also referred to as "teenagers" or "young adults." Adolescence begins after the childhood stage and ends right before adulthood. The years of adolescence range from 12 years old to 21 years old. The years of adolescence can be quite a roller coaster ride. Young people in this stage encounter a great deal of changes in their life as they prepare for adulthood. I will discuss emotional, intellectual, physiological, and social domains of development and how it relates to adolescents. I will also discuss some helpful tips for teachers to aide in communicating effectively to adolescents and understanding their

Since the mid to late 1990’s, youth suicide has become a common cause of death for young Australians (Carter 2010 para. 1). The government then acted and managed to reduce the suicide rate, which was a success (Carter 2010 para. 2). After decades, the problem was re-encountered and it became one of the leading causes of death for people under 25 years old in Australia surpassing car

Discovering one’s identity, struggling to understand one’s conventionally appropriate gender role, accepting one’s body image, gaining independence from parents, maintaining responsible sexual relationships along with enduring vehement hormones, establishing values relating to marriage and parenthood, and simultaneously managing academic goals, extracurricular activities, and occupational preparations are all psychological and social demands placed on the adolescent. These demands, along with additional factors, such as bullying, drug use/domestic substance abuse, domestic violence, divorce of parents, rape/sexual assault, loss of a loved one, heartbreak, low socioeconomic status, health problems, race, ethnicity, struggles with self-identification, and other traumatic experiences can all increase one’s likelihood to commit suicide.

Adolescence is a time of stressful transition for teenagers. They are straddling the fence between childhood and adulthood. Changes in their bodies, brains, thinking, values, friends, responsibilities and expectations cause events that are usually a time fraught with turbulence, for both the teen and their parents. This is a normal part of human development, and must be endured in order to come out the other side, hopefully well-adjusted, happy, healthy, and

Depression is a major predictor of a myriad of negative outcomes such as poor academic achievement, low self-esteem, decreased pro-social relationships, and higher risks of substance abuse (Healy, 2016). Additionally, these negative outcomes experienced by depressed teens may be even more apparent if the depression remains untreated. Findings mentioned earlier by Jones (2013) have also confirmed that this sensitive period in an individual’s life is particularly vulnerable to depressive symptoms that could lead to dire outcomes. These negative outcomes found by Jones (2013) concur with many of the same outcomes Healy mentioned. Moreover, research by Jaycox, Stein, and Paddock (2009) further delves into the impact of teen depression on these negative outcomes. Their study broadens knowledge on negative outcomes in teen depression by examining them over a long period of time. The data is compared to teens that are not depressed, but experience the same negative consequences. Results from the research concluded that the negative outcomes such as school achievement and poor relationships were significantly more severe in depressed teens. After stating the major consequences depressed adolescents experienced, their study further found that treating adolescents may not only have clinical symptom benefits, but also greatly

Have you ever thought of committing suicide? Suicide is the second leading cause of death amongst Canadian youths. However, despite the fact that generates many passings, there is nearly not enough actions that are being performed to prevent the proceeding of the action. Youth suicide is neglected as a large-scale problem in Canada, and should be taken to account more seriously because of its presence as a huge conflict.

Suicide is the third leading cause of deaths in adolescents in the United States. Teen suicide is also often referred to as a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Teens so often are suicidal and attempt suicide as a call for help from others. They have no intention in dying they are just trying to cry out for help from anyone that will listen. Many reasons cause teen to attempt suicide, varying from bullying to psychological disorders. In fact, psychological disorders accounts for about 90% of teens who attempt or commit suicide. Teenagers are also at higher risk of suicide when they are under

For many years parents and their teenage children have found it difficult to understand one another during this phase of life because of the changes the child faces as they develop mentally and physically. This misunderstanding may be caused by various reasons such as hormonal changes, and as for the teenage children while transitioning some of them act out in outrageous ways such as being rebellious to their parents, get into drugs due to social influence and others getting carried away because of peer pressure, while others not affect by the transition as much. So for this reason, I have chosen this topic to see if I could understand some of the issues on adolescents and trouble they face during this transition with their parents.

Adolescence is a stage of maturation between childhood and adulthood that denotes the period from the beginning of puberty to maturity. However, many conflicting opinions are raised about weather such a stage of childhood is influenced by stress, depression, and suicide rate. Some people support the optimistic view that says that adolescence is not a period of storm and stress. Others, including me, support an opposite pessimistic view which characterizes adolescence as a period of stress and inner turmoil. Unfortunately, it has been recently proved that depression is a growing problem in today 's society and a major contributing factor for a multitude of adolescent problems. This is because , as research indicates, adolescent depression

Adolescence is defined as “the period of transition between childhood and adulthood that involves biological, cognitive, and socioemotional changes” (Santrock, 2012, p. 16). This time period can be very stressful in itself with all the changes that are going on physically, socially and emotionally. Not only is an individual experiencing physical changes as they enter puberty but his or her social roles are also changing and that can be difficult to adjust to. It can be hard enough for a person to discover who he or she is and to become their own person during this time of transition, but that is made even more difficult when the individual’s home life is thrown into chaos and he or she experiences the turmoil of divorce. Experiencing a parental divorce or separation during adolescence can have long-term effects not only on the teenager’s

Adolescence is the distinct transitional stage between childhood and adulthood in human development, extending primarily over the teenage years and terminating legally when the age of majority is reached (Rathus, 2014). However in some instances, this biological, cognitive, social and emotional maturity may not be reached until a later stage and may be dictated by gender. Adolescence is characterised by rapidly changing and unpredictable behaviour (Freud, as cited in Rathus 2014), heightened and unstable emotions (Hall, as cited in Rathus 2014), disturbances in identity, the gradual development of one’s moral reasoning (Kohlberg, as cited in Rathus, 2014) and the gradual establishment of one’s independence. Several of these changes may occur at differing phases in adolescent growth. This development is categorized into three separate stages; early adolescence, middle adolescence, and late adolescence. Early Adolescence, commencing from the ages of eleven or twelve until the age of fourteen, comprises of several features such as rapid biological development and maturity, heightened stress levels and limited coping capabilities. On the other hand, middle adolescence, from the approximate age of fourteen to sixteen, involves the gradual cease of biological change, an increase in coping strategies and declined stress levels. Furthermore, late adolescence, commencing from the age of sixteen until the age of eighteen or nineteen, encompasses physical maturity, whereby the