Suicide and Children Essay

The first step in taking action against adolescent suicide is by recognizing the warning signs. Some of the warning signs are (a) rage, anger, seeking revenge; (b) acting reckless or engaging in risky activities, seemingly without thinking; (c) feeling trapped, as if there is no way out; (d)

Teen’s behavior is a major warning sign of suicide or suicidal thoughts. Many factors play into an adolescent's behavior and attitude determining the way they

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.

Two percent of preteens and five percent of adolescents suffer from depression (www.about-teen-depression.com 2014). There are specific signs and symptoms associated with depression, which are helpful in detection of the illness. There are various ways to treat depression, such as medication, group therapy, and/or herbal supplements. There are pros and cons with each treatment, but the worst coincides with the medication –suicide. Much research has been conducted, which will be discussed in the paper that has shown a link to antidepressants and suicide. However, there is also evidence that the suicide rate could be decreased with proper diagnosis and early, supervised treatment for depression, especially when dealing with

Research has discovered that suicide and mental health issues can occur in children and teenagers thanks to technology, stress, and lack of support. An article from the Huffington Post by Stephanie

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

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 2015, suicide is the second leading cause of death in the adolescent population in this country and the number of occurrences continues to rise at a dramatic rate. For every teen that completes a suicide, 100 make an attempt, making suicide a paramount public health issue that needs to be addressed. Statistics show that since 2009, the rates of attempted and completed suicide, in this age group continue to steadily increase (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2015; Taliaferro, Oberstar, & Wagman-Borowsky, 2012).

Teen suicides have been on the rise since the 1970’s, making it the second leading cause of death among the youth within the U.S. Suicide is the act of taking one’s own life, intentionally. All of my sources have great information and some sort of stance in spite of all of the chaos with this topic. These authors include Emma Brown, Dahr Jamail, Sonia Nazario, Ophelia D. Johnson, Sara-Ellen Amster, Ames Alexander, Michele Ingrassia & John McCormick, Ruth Padawer, Colleen Diskin, Joanne Fox, Gregg Zoroya, Kathleen Megan, and Michael E. Young. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S and their are many factors that play a role in the process leading up to a suicide, including bullying, traumatic experiences, and mental illnesses.

Numerous psychological autopsy studies have shown that approximately 90% of youth who die by suicide experience at least one mental disorder (Gould et al., 2003). The Utah Youth Suicide Study results (2005) indicated that mood disorders and substance use disorders are the most common diagnoses of youth who have died by suicide (Moskos et al., 2005). Further, results of a psychological autopsy study conducted by Brent et al. (1993) indicated that major depression, bipolar disorder, substance abuse, and conduct disorder are the most significant psychiatric risk factors in adolescents who die by suicide. In addition, both mood and anxiety disorders with childhood onset have been shown to increase the likelihood of multiple nonlethal attempts in young adulthood (Rudd, Joiner, & Rumzek, 2004). Personality disorders have also been found to increase the risk of lethal suicide attempts in adolescents (Brent et al., 1993).

“Research on suicide overlooks young children” article began its discussion of various type of factors that may influence suicide thoughts in children. On average thirty-three deaths occur per year in the united states, amongst children the ages of five to eleven. While death by suicide is higher in adolescents and more or so less common in children, it still shows suicide is still a problem in young children. Per doctor Susan Mayes, psychiatric disorders increase the risk of suicide in children between the ages six and eighteen. Such include: bulimia, anorexia, ADHD, autism, etc. It is not unheard of for children with depression to have thoughts about suicide or attempted it, but bulimia has shown to have a greater risk for suicide than depression. Doctor Guy Diamond, stated that children and adolescents with suicidal behaviors also are driven by factors such as family discord, bullying, and social failure compared to adults.

Another warning can be drawing back from friends and family and being more self-conducted. They don’t want to know any more about the outside world. Changes in appetite and sleeping habits are also important symptoms teenagers may show when they feel suicidal. These are just some examples of the most important contributors to suicidal thoughts. Others can be: tearfulness or frequent crying, loss of interest in extracurricular activities, fatigue, restlessness and agitations and lack of enthusiasm and motivation (Smith, Suzanne & Jeanne, 2013). Not all teenagers have a high risk of becoming suicidal. Mental problems at a young age can be big lead-outs to have high probabilities of suicide. People with mental problems are more vulnerable to kill themselves and it’s even more risky in teenagers since they are in a phase of life full of confusion, stress, worry, anxiety, and with a lot of social and academic pressure. Teenagers should be carefully watched by their parents but in a point where it’s not overwhelming for them, they should feel loved and cared but not harassed; keeping a safe distance. Doctors recommend having a good communication with your sons and daughters to make them feel in a comfortable and cozy environment to express their feelings not only about home matters but also about academic concerns including teachers and also very important, their social circles, who they hang out with in and out of school.

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

Teen suicide is a major problem in our society today. The adolescent suicide rate has tripled since 1960, while being the largest cause of death between the ages of 15 and 24. This is the one single age group that has seen an increase in suicides over the past thirty years. There are about 10,000 reported suicides reported annually. It is estimated however, that the true number of teen suicides is actually three to four times that number when unreported deaths are factored in.

     For a teen suffering from severe depression, has feelings of worthlessness that dominates their day. Despair is ever present and emotional pain feels like it will never end. Any situation of anger or disappointment may cause the teen to cross the line from wanting to die, to actually trying to kill themselves.