Suicide is deliberately taking one’s own life, in the United States this continues to be a serious problem and is the third leading cause of death among adolescents. With rates of suicide among young people doubling over the past fifty years. Teenagers who experience a sudden trauma growing up can intensify negative feelings and for some teens suicide is the solution they turn to escape their stresses and problems. One of the myths of suicidal talk amongst adolescents is that it is often a ploy used to gain attention or help. Rather than dealing with these threats, they are often seen as a bluff and are dismissed. However, the threat of suicide should never be cast aside, it is crucial to respond to these threats to avoid a negative …show more content…
Although some of these situations are experienced at some point by most adolescents, there is research that suggests that these negative life stressors in addition to a psychiatric disorder can greatly contribute to suicide risk and behaviors. (Smischney et al, 2014) However, these are just a few of the many risk factors that can lead an adolescent to suicide.
Most of these risk factors can also be prevented if the correct actions are taken to reduce the chances of suicide. In one source Dr. Kaslow explains that along with risk factors, those that increase the possibility of suicide one should also look for protective factors, or things that can decrease the risk of suicide. As Dr. Kaslow states in her research, children who have a lot of risk factors and little protective factors are the ones to be concerned about. However, if the child has a fair number of risk factors but a larger number of protective factors there is no need to be overly concerned about the behavior however, one should still act to help the child to prevent that behavior from growing into something that could have detrimental consequences. Protective factors that can assuage the risk of engaging in suicidal behaviors include having hood problem solving abilities, young people that can find ways to resolve conflicts in a non-violent way, having strong connections with family friends and people in their community are less likely to harm themselves mostly because they feel
Suicide has become the second leading cause of death among teens in the United States. American youth have more risk to mental disorders due to race, sexuality, family, and stress of fitting in with their surroundings. Many mental illnesses will lead to suicidal thoughts or eventually to an attempt at suicide. Anxiety and the pressure to fit in contributes greatly to depression and suicide, particularly in high school. During youth, it's especially hard to find who you are, and still have the risk of getting made fun of or being bullied. Mental disorders along with substance abuse can also increase suicidal tendencies commodiously.All of these factors lead to the most common mental disorder, depression. Depression in young adults is the most
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
Teens who experienced traumatic events in their childhood are more likely to commit suicide. According to The Mayo Clinic ( 2017), studies show that teens who are victims of divorce, rape, or abuse are at a higher risk of attempting suicide. However, teens with mental health issues are most likely to commit suicide. Depression is the leading cause in health issues among teens. Deriving from home life, alcohol and drug use, friendships, school, and other attributes.
While all the above are driving factors of teen suicide, often the underlying concern is mental illness. Some teens who seek suicide initiate because of depression, borderline personality disorder or bipolar disorder. These illness intensify the pain a teen may suffer. Because of these underling illnesses, teens should seek and treat by medical professional.
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.
Boys are more likely than girls to die from suicide; however, girls are more likely to report attempting suicide with 81% of the suicide deaths in the 10 to 24 age group identified as males and 19% were females (“Suicide Among Youth,” 2013, para. 4). Therefore, addressing suicide prevention during a time that children are more acceptable to learning is ideal. Youth spend a significant amount of time in school; accordingly, schools should provide extensive training and information to the students in regards to suicide prevention. Unfortunately, individuals that die by suicide are not a certain age, a certain race, or part of a particular economic status. Thoughts of suicide can enter a person’s mind at any time which is why it is important to start suicide prevention education before the onset of situational factors that have the potential of developing suicidal thought. Schools are a naturally important place for students to receive
There is other evidence of high rates of suicide among teenagers done from other sources that have similar results. Over the years, the number of suicides have substantially increased. Certain individuals are at a higher risk of committing suicide. Those risk factors can include: “bullying, physical abuse, family history of suicide, family history of child maltreatment, previous suicide attempts, history of mental disorders, particularly clinical depression, history of alcohol
First reason some teenagers commit suicide is mental illness. Teenagers with mental health problems are at higher risk of commit suicide. Types of mental illness teenagers’ face is depression. Teenager can be depress because he or she not doing well in school. Another depression is a teenager loses their job and that was their only income. Also, if a teenager living on their own and cannot afford rent or bills. Teenagers going through major life changes are at risk with mental illness. Examples of major changes are parent’s divorces, moving to a different city or state, or parent separation. Mental illness is an important factor of teenage
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 main purpose of this study was to confirm what psychiatric risk factors are most highly linked to adolescent suicide. This study was done by David A Brent, Joshua A Perper, Grace Moritz, Chris Allman, Amy Friend, Claudia Roth, Joy Schweers, Lisa Balach, and Marianne Baugher from 1989 to 1991. There have been multiple studies similar to this; some found that substance abuse and antisocial disorder were often found to be the largest risk factor while other studies found that affective illnesses (depression) was the largest risk factor. These findings aren’t fully accurate because those studies didn’t include a community control. With suicide there is almost always mental illnesses with that person, and often times are affected with more
Even though teen suicide is one of the leading causes of deaths in teenagers, there are many ways it can be prevented.
The leading risk factors for adolescent suicide include: family history of suicide, previous suicide attempts, mental and psychological disorders, substance abuse, history of abuse, easy access to methods of suicide (ex. parents own a gun), death of a family member or friend, and last but not least lack of social support. It is important to take these risk factors very seriously.
Suicide is highly preventable for teens by anyone close to them, but early detection is key. We all know a teenager whether their a friend or family member, but what we don’t know is what goes on in their heads prior to their suicide. Suicide is a tricky thing to prevent because you don’t know whether it’s a mood swing or the real deal. There are clear warning signs that give you a hint that the teen is suicidal. They usually talk about death and have wish to die. Although it may seem as if a teen always says “I’m going to kill myself!”, this is just an example of anxiety. Another sign is a social life that encounters a downfall as well as a problem that gives them a bad image of themselves. They let themselves go on the outside (appearance) and also on the inside. After these turn of events they also start preparing for death by giving away valued possessions. Although these are what usually happens with a suicidal child, it can possibly be
Sexual and physical abuse are also contributing causes to the teen suicide epidemic. From these types of abuse usually depression and other psychological disorders form, making the risk of these youth committing suicide very high. Family support is important as well, “A Teen with an adequate support network of friends, family, and religious affiliations, peer groups or extracurricular activities may have an outlet to deal with everyday frustrations, but many teen’s don’t believe they have that, and feel disconnected and isolated from family and friends. These teens have an increased risk for suicide” (kidsHealth.org). Additionally the issue of sexuality and an unsupportive family or peer group is also detrimental to the teen’s psyche and plays a major role in teen suicide. Lastly, sudden trauma in a teen’s life is very influential on a suicide decision. The loss of a parent, sibling, or loved one can cause the teen to react by committing or attempting suicide. Teenagers are more at risk because they are in a stage of growth in their lives, and thus the depression or trauma can create a feeling of isolation in their mind. In most cases there are ways to detect when a person is planning to commit suicide before they actually carry it out. Teen suicide can be prevented when the warning signs are recognized early on.
Some teens who attempt suicide may have experienced multiple negative life events, sexual abuse, neglection, separation, and previous suicide attempts (Teen Suicide Is a Major Health Problem). Suicide has so many risk factors and negative results. No one should have to go through any of these problems nor deal with the loss of a loved one due to suicide.