Suicide Rates in Kent & Sussex County Among Youth Ages 12-24 Part 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.

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.

Youth Suicide is the number one most preventable cause of death in the United States. The number of youth in the United States taking their own lives is increasing rapidly each year and Delaware is not exempt. In Delaware about 116

In 2011, suicide was the 3rd leading cause of young people aged 15-24 years old. It was reported that there were 39518 deaths by suicide by youths constituting of 78.5% male and 21.5% female.) It was stated that 50.6% of suicide method was by firearm and 24.8% by suffocation such as hanging. (American foundation for suicide prevention n.d)

Suicide is a devastating, preventable tragedy and is among the top causes of death in the adolescent population. Compelling statistics given since 2009 show the number of

Yet researchers and mental health professionals cannot pinpoint why the rate has climbed, and they know little about what causes someone thinking about suicide to attempt it. As a result, suicide-screening tools are not very effective, and most school-based suicide-prevention programs may not reduce teen suicides. But researchers are hopeful that new studies, including large trials of three kinds of psychotherapy in adolescents, will help in understanding teen suicide and lead to better identification and treatment of high-risk teens. Meanwhile, many states are requiring instructors to be trained to recognize and respond to potentially suicidal students. Also, researchers have begun studying into physical brain characteristics that could be connected to teen suicide. It’s difficult to pinpoint why exactly suicide death rates have risen among teenagers. But Kelly Posner, a professor of medical psychology at Columbia University, says possibilities include a growth in social media and cyber bullying; a drop in antidepressant use after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2004 required antidepressant labels to carry a warning of possible suicide risk for children and adolescents; and the weak economy. There have been many reports on young teens that post online their last message, and

Although most of the media attention focuses on adolescent homicide, suicide deaths should have us more alarmed, and we should understand that adolescent suicide is a preventable public health issue. In adolescent Suicide deaths are more prevalent than homicide deaths (CDC, 2012). According to the National Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS), suicide is the second leading cause of death for adolescents age 13 to 17 (CDC, 2016). That number surpasses the number of deaths due to chronic diseases such as cancer, HIV, and diabetes. While this is a significant number, not all suicide attempts are reported (Joiner, 2005). Furthermore, suicide accounted for 10 % of

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

However, other psychopathologies did not differ significantly by gender. At the baseline, 37% of adolescents had a history of one suicide attempt, while 39% had a history of two or more suicide attempts. Adolescents with multiple suicide attempts re-attempted 21% of the time during the follow up period, while 14% of those with a single suicide attempt re-attempted during the follow up period. In regards to re-attempting suicide during the follow up period, there was not a significant difference in gender between those with single and multiple suicide attempts.

Internationally, suicide ranks fourth among the major causes of adolescents’ deaths (Peltzer & Pengpid, 2015). Suicide ranks as the third major reason of adolescents’ deaths in the U.S. in addition to second in Europe (Shlosberg et al., 2014). In the United States, deaths of people among the ages of 10 and 24 are primarily related to auto accidents, accidental injuries, homicide, and suicide (accounting for 17%) (Shlosberg et al., 2014). The report also established that 14.6% of the students at the national level had prepared a plan to commit suicide (Kann et al., 2016). The rate for attempted suicide was at 8.6% (Kann et al., 2016). Although these adolescent suicide rates exist, the investigation of illegal drug use in

Suicide is one of the largest social problems today affecting many lives in one way or another. It is a serious issue with multiple contributors that have been elusive in many cases as we try to understand why many younger people are choosing to end their lives instead of receive the help they need. Suicide is a serious issue that can have lasting results on individuals, families and communities. Although suicide rates decreased from 1990-2000, suicide is on the rise again and now the “10th leading cause of death in the US for all ages” (SAVE | Suicide Facts. n.d.). The causes of suicide are complex and unique to each, therefore, with effective prevention approaches, patient rights, and options as well as resources available to those experiencing suicidal ideations, we can promote awareness of suicide and encourage social change.

Teenage suicide is a major national public health concern facing America today. Thousands of teenagers commit suicide each year. Many experts believe that teenage suicide is often due to unpredictable circumstances and can be contributed to hormonal impulses. However, recent case findings and statistics prove that this is not necessarily true. Although some teenage suicides may be the result of youthful and impulsive actions, certain risk factors, signs, and symptoms can contribute to self-inflicted death in adolescents.

Suicide before the age of 15 is uncommon. Most of suicides among children and adolescents occur late in adolescence period. According to published data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2009, the suicide rate for children ages 10 to 14 was 1.3 per 100,000, adolescents ages 15 to 19 was 7.75, per 100,000, and for young adults ages 20 to 24 was 12.5 per 100,000. There is no doubt that the suicides rate are increasing day by day. According to a survey suicide is the second leading cause of death in Canadians and 27 other European Union countries

With over 3,000 attempts every day, suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth in the United States (Teen Depression Study: Understanding Depression in Teenagers). While there are many psychological and internal factors, the responsibility to learn about the causes and effects of teen depression lies within every person that hears this essay. Whether young, old, intelligent, or curly headed procrastinator; we all possess a duty to the people around us to learn the fundamentals of society’s largest, deadly problem: depression.

According to Maureen and Kayla (78), “adolescent depression is a serious problem affecting 10.7% of all teens and 29.9% of high school students” whereby, 17% of the latter are supposed to have contemplated suicide in general. Notably, this statistic conveys the seriousness with which the issue needs to be addressed with because, ostensibly, most of the depression cases, which ultimately lead to suicide incidences among teens, are still going unrecognized. Moreover, as American Psychological Association asserts, the primary cause of suicidal distress include social, environmental, and psychological factors (par. 2). Additionally, the former also notes that suicide risk factors vary with certain aspects including age, ethnic group, stressful life events, family dynamics, and gender among other factors. In precision, it is admissible that despite the many aspects that are supposed to be the main cause of suicide cases among teens, failure to recognize and treat, or rather, address the causative agents of suicidal conditions could be the primary reason for the rampancy regarding the issue. Therefore, if, for instance, medical practitioners and parents among other involved individuals seek to curb teen suicide, it first necessitates their understanding of the problem including reasons that might lead a teenager to develop suicidal thoughts.