Teens Suicide, Risk Factors, and Intervention Measures
Nothing is more devastating for a family or community to lose a young person to teen suicide. Oftentimes, parents, classmates, siblings, and neighbors are left wondering whether they could have done anything to prevent the spiraling of suicide thoughts and ultimately the death itself.
Preventing tragedies such as these require a proper understanding of suicide ideation and the risk factors pushing the teen to a point of attempted suicide. That said, the reasons for attempted suicide in teens can be quite complex. In general, the rate of suicide attempts in children is much lower, but as they progress to become adolescents, the rate goes up sharply.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide ranks third among the leading causes of death in the United States for people aged between 15 and 24 years.
The risk of suicide has been shown to dramatically increase in instances where teens have access to firearms. Statistics reveal that 60% of all the suicides in the United States are gun related. Therefore, parents and guardians with guns in their homes should ensure they are unloaded and safely locked out of reach of teens.
Apart from access to firearms, overdose resulting from over-the-counter prescriptions and self-medication are among the leading methods through which teens attempt and complete suicides. In terms of gender, there is a stark difference between girls and boys. While the
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.
Suicide is the 6th leading cause of death for 5-14 y/o and 3rd leading cause of death for 15-24 y/o
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.
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.
From 2011 to 2015, teen suicide has transformed into a consequential issue within the United States of America. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among American teenagers between the ages of twelve and eighteen, and is the third leading cause of death for those aged ten to fourteen. Back in 2011, the suicide death rate for those teenagers aged thirteen to nineteen was 6.74 per 100,000, an aggregate of 2,014 teens. Suicide also accounted for 17 percent of U.S. teenage deaths in the year 2011, second only to unintentional injuries, accounting for 39 percent. In 2013, 8 percent of
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
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
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
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)
Teen suicide is increasing in America in teens age’s 14-17,young males,minorities;through the availability of guns,alcohol,drugs,and lack of support.
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).
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 has been a growing problem that can affect family, peers and communities. “Everyday approximately 105 Americans die by suicide.” Depression has affected over 25% of Americans from 18+ in a year. The rates of teen suicide and suicide attempts have increased humongously. When teens have access to firearms (gun, pistol, a weapon), it is more likely for them to be at a risk of suicide. Although suicide seems unable to fix, there are many ways that people can help those going through depression. Parents can help prevent suicide by recognizing “warning signs”, knowing how to talk to their teen, help reduce teen’s stress, and lowering the chances of engaging suicidal behavior. Other ways that parents can be apart of suicidal prevention
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.
Two people from my high school committed suicide during the four years that I was there, plus one more since I have left, yet the school did nothing to prevent any others from happening. Sure, right after these occurrences, the school counselors would open their doors to provide a place for those left behind to grieve, but the school as a whole never truly took a step toward anything even resembling suicide prevention. Teen suicide is an issue that has grown more and more common in the recent years, and, as of 2014, is the second most common cause of death among ten to twenty-four year olds (Amer. Foundation for Suicide Prevention). With the level of youth suicides ranking so high, why should the one place in which teenagers spend the majority of their time, schools, not be the first to jump on an opportunity to keep them from happening? It is of utmost importance that schools take preventative action regarding any potential suicide victims who may walk their halls every day. It would be extremely beneficial to require all schools to provide suicide prevention programs that include schoolwide screenings for depression and suicidal tendencies, as well as suicide education programs for both the students and the staff. This is so because the screenings bring attention to those at risk of suicide who may not have reached out for help themselves, and the education programs alert both the students and staff about the severity of the matter as well as signs to look for in those