Teen Suicide Causes

Suicide continues to be one of the main causes of death in teens throughout America. Statistically, suicide in the second leading cause of death for those ages ten to twenty-four and around 3,470 people grades ninth to twelfth attempt suicide each day in the United States (Youth Suicide Statistics 1). The reason for these people wanting to take their life is unknown, however, divorce of parents, formation of a new family, or moving to a new community, are common reasons for suicide. On the other hand, those who battle depression or develop depression increase the risk of a suicide attempt. People may think that everything is going wrong and dying is the only solution; but people will always be willing to help. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem and nothing is worth taking your own life over.

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).

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.

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.

There is at least 113 suicides each day or 1 every 13 minutes. Suicide among males is the seventh leading cause of death and the fourteenth leading cause in females. Most suicides are with a firearm and are carried out with a “ Saturday night special”. (Dilaura,Cynthia DiLaura) “More than 90 percent of suicide attempts with a gun are fatal. “ (Brady Campaign) There are a number of reasons why suicide occurs. Stress is the number one cause among our youth, bullies, peer pressure, depression, and abuse. 41,100 people committed suicide in the United States in 2013. Our young teens today does not take time to look deeper into there problem and to seek out a better solution. They are looking for a quick fix but not realizing once the trigger is pulled the result is final with no turning back. Most people who has attempted suicide is more likely to try a second attempt and most have an underlying mental illness. There is many warming that someone may be in a suicide crisis. We most learn how to see things through their eyes. No matter what one is facing in life or the difficult that lie ahead of them Nothing is worth taken your own

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).

“For youth between the ages of 10 and 24, suicide is the third leading cause of death, approximately 4600 lives lost each year. Of the reported suicides in the 10 to 24 age group, 81% of the deaths were males and 19% were females. The top three methods used in suicides of young people include firearm (45%), suffocation (40%), and poisoning (8%)” (CDC, 2015). The school is not an easy step to take, and a lot of students suffer from anxiety attacks caused by stress and depression. Sadly, these students usually don’t seek help or maybe they just simply don’t know where to go for the help. “The costs of suicidal behaviors and the savings that can result from preventing these behaviors can help convince policymakers and other stakeholders that suicide prevention is an investment that will save dollars as well as lives” (SPRC, 2015).

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 10-24 year olds in the United States (Kim, Dickstein). Every year there are thousands of teens dying, not from cancer, getting shot, or car accident, but by their own hands. Teens make the choice of committing suicide. Researchers reported that the number of teen suicides are rapidly growing each year. Whether people realize it or not, this is a huge problem and people need to acknowledge this situation. This problem can be prevented, just like any other problem in our world. Last year, there was this guy who committed suicide days before his graduation, but no one knew the justification behind his actions nor seen the signs. Locals would say many reasons why he did it, but only he knew why he did it. There are many causes to someone wanting to commit suicide. According to his mother, he was somewhat depressed, but continue to say that there was nothing wrong with him. Depression is the leading cause of someone wanting to committing suicide. Based on my research, I have come to the conclusion that depression is the main cause of suicide and experts agree with

By creating programs that effectively reduce the number of suicides, costs will decrease, because in “2005, the estimated cost of suicide was more than $34.6 billion arising from 32,637 deaths and including medical costs and inferred lost work” (Caine 1). Thus, suicide is not only a personal problem anymore, but also a drastic national, economic issue, that needs more government attention. Better governmental legislation that provides effective prevention programs in high schools is a logical way to solve this problem, because “the school is a nexus for teen life and, therefore, uniquely poised as a context in which to address teen suicide” (Cooper 696). Furthermore, the government requires and regulates school attendance, so it is only reasonable that the government protects students from harm. However, current governmental legislation and prevention strategies aimed toward high school students have not made the necessary impact to combat rising suicide rates. Even after implementation of The New Freedom Commission, “there have been many suicide prevention programs that have been developed, but very few that show statistically significant effectiveness” (696). For example, “telephone crisis programs and drop-in centers have not reduced the suicide rates; widespread treatment for depression has not lessened suicide. In fact, suicide from tricyclic antidepressant medication has increased in the last few years” (Westermeyer 108). Therefore, these issues call for

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

“While teens are taking fewer drugs than they have in years suicide remains a problem so entrenched that it is prompting the medical community to re-evaluate how it identifies and treats suicidal adolescents” (Anna Mulrine 1). More than 500 schools are offering depression screenings in the upcoming school year, because eight percent of students in high school attempted suicide last year. School counselors should have special training to know when to recognize students who could possibly be suicidal, but over one third of them cannot identify them. Parents should simply ask their child if they have ever thought of killing their self; it is better to know before and get them help than having to plan their funeral. If they are depressed, there are people who can help them overcome that obstacle in life. Jessica attempted to kill herself when she was thirteen years old. When she recovered she told her coach she just wanted attention, but just before her school graduation, she swallowed enough pills to put her in a coma for three days. When she awoke she decided she would talk with a counselor for the first time. Jessica is now twenty-four and married with two children. Kelsey, who suffered from depression and suicide for years, swallowed eighteen Tylenol PM Pills one year after her brother ended his life, but she was lucky enough to have survived. ”Suicide attempts are not stunts” (Douglas Jacobs 1). They can

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), in 2004, suicide was the third largest cause of death in the following age groups. Of every 100,000 young people in each age group, adolescents ages 15 to 19-8.2 per 100,000. In 2005, 16.9% of U.S. high school students reported that they had seriously considered attempting suicide during the 12 months preceding the survey. So even though this might change and decreases the suicide amount, students have to go to school and prepared for their futures.

e tragedy of a young person dying because of overwhelming hopelessness or frustration is devastating to family, friends, and community. Parents, siblings, classmates, coaches, and neighbors might be left wondering if they could have done something to prevent that young person from turning to suicide.Title: Suicide