Suicide Prevention Programs

In the United States, suicide is the third leading cause of death among persons between the ages of 10-24 [1]. In addition, a large percentage of adolescents consider committing suicide. The Centers for Disease Control found that 16% of students in high schools nationwide reported seriously considering suicide, while 8 percent reported trying to take their own life [1]. One of the difficulties in addressing the issue of suicide is the stigma attached to it. People are unwilling to discuss it publically. [1]

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.

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).

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among teens who feel that the world is better without them. I want to make a program in school to help kids who are in need of mental assistance and care. One of my friends is suicidal and told me she didn’t feel like anyone wanted her here anymore. I immediately told her she was worth it, that she should keep holding on, but people like her need someone to talk to while staying anonymous, so they don't have to worry about their parents talking with potential therapists. I think a school program could help that. Having somebody to talk to while staying unidentified may be important to a kid who doesn’t want to confide in anyone out of fear. Knowing that they could get help without feeling exposed could help a suicidal

Many people think that a lot has been done to prevent youth suicide. 2,415 teenagers have been committing suicide per year in the last 5 years (Hunter Institute of Mental Health, 2014). Most of them have done that due to psychological issues. Furthermore, bullying is also one of the causes that we should be focused on. In addition, technological developments make it easier for teenager to get bullied through the Internet and social media. I think people should be concerned about youth suicide rather than physical health only because it could be a silent killer to this generation. I don’t think that people have done enough to prevent youth suicide.

The United States takes the eleventh spot in the top fifteen causes of death because of suicide. For our youth suicide is the third leading cause of death. In today’s society suicide in our youth is becoming a huge issue. Recently, youth suicide in Delaware has been a concerning topic. With the many suicides that have been taking place; we ask ourselves why is this happening to Delaware’s youth? It’s quite sad reading of all the lives taken at such young ages. It’s still questionable on the real reasons why so much of our youth want to cut their life short. There are numbers of things on why possibly our youth would want to commit suicide. There is one reason that has been proven to be the head cause and that is mental illness. A mental illness refers to a wide range of mental health conditions and disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior. Examples of mental illness includes depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and addictive behaviors. (Staff, 2012) Some other causes may be bullying, drug and alcohol abuse and physical and sexual abuse. Youth that die by suicide believes that suicide is the only option at that moment; however Delaware has several resources available to prevent youth suicide.

Schools are a cost-effective way to reach youth, yet there is no conclusive evidence regarding the most effective prevention strategy. We conducted a systematic review of the empirical literature on school-based suicide prevention programs. Signs of Suicide and the Good Behavior Game were the only programs found to reduce suicide attempts. There are few evidence-based, school-based suicide prevention programs, a combination of which may be effective. It would be useful to evaluate the effectiveness of general mental health promotion programs on the outcome of suicide (Katz et al.,

Lives are slowly being lost due to suicide and not only is it affecting themselves but also the people who are around them. Suicide is defined as taking of one’s own life and it is an issue that should be given all attention to. Teen suicide has been talked about in every source of media and it still continues to have a harmful effect in todays generation. In the United States the eighth leading cause of death is suicide, within developing teens, suicide is the third leading cause of their deaths (NAMI). There are many signs of someone who is contemplating suicide. And there are many reason for someone to be driven to the point of suicide. Those reasons being if the teenager is dealing with depression, bullying, sexual abuse and abuse

The structure of our program is to work with school sites in order to train a core group of students on how to identify the risk factors and warning signs of suicide. The goal is for the students to ultimately be a link to a trusted adult or resource on campus for a student who may be contemplating suicide. Once students are trained we work with them to create schoolwide campaigns which focus on raising awareness to help resources that are always available when needed.

As people can tell, there are many different interventions methods for people considering suicide, but does not mean that each of those interventions are the best. Suicide intervention and prevention programs that are school based are difficult to determine the effectiveness because of the lack of evidence. Research has noted that there are some reasons as to why school based suicide intervention does work. Those reasons were provided in a table from an article by Balaguru, Sharma, and Waheed. Balaguru, Sharma, and Waheed ( 20102, p 134) discovered that school based programs can be effective because they involve parents in the process, addresses the risk factor of drinking alcohol and how it correlates with suicide, improves problem solving

Before the age of eighteen nearly a fourth of all young persons will deal with mental illness (Shirk and Jungbluth 217). Only around a third of these children will receive professional treatment (United States Public Health Service qtd. in Shirk and Jungbluth 222). Because of the risk of suicide in mentally ill young people, it is crucial that mental health services are readily available to our youth in school settings. Therefore, schools should administer mandatory mental health screenings because mental illness often affects academic performance, and the majority of young persons that commit suicide have a treatable illness.

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

The lack of exposing young people to this information has caused teens to not seek help.“Suicide is the second main reason for 13-19-year-old deaths.”

Even though teen suicide is one of the leading causes of deaths in teenagers, there are many ways it can be prevented.

Today’s teenagers are faced with the ever changing world around them and the biological changes of their bodies. Many teens are also faced with depression. Approximately half of teenagers with untreated depression may attempt suicide, which remains the third leading cause of death in this age group. (Bostic). This depression affects their school, family lives, and robs them of their self image. Depression affects many teens and often goes by unnoticed and untreated.