Regarding public health, suicide has and continues to be a major issue, accounting for 40,000 deaths per year within the general population of the United States alone (cite). While the devastating effects of suicide impacts the entire population, what is even more alarming is the epidemic of death by suicide within the college student population, with this age cohort at a dramatically higher risk for suicide when compared to the public. Therefore, it is unfortunately not surprising that death by suicide is noted as the second leading cause of death for the college student demographic, yielding approximately 1,100 deaths each year (cite). Similarly to the general population, there are at-risk groups within the college community that place individuals at a higher risk of suicidal behaviors such as ideation and attempts (cite). Some of these at-risk groups include LGBT, first generation, and international students (cite). Additionally, there are environmental factors that college students will experience through this transitional period that will also contribute to this demographic being at a higher risk of suicide.
Being a young adult presents many challenges, none more than this adjustment to college life as a young adult. At this stage in their life, not only are students simultaneously trying to figure out who they are, but they are also experiencing things for the first time while they begin to attune to their new surroundings. While this newfound freedom facilitates
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 current suicide rate among 15- to 24-year olds is quite disturbing. Growing in numbers since 2007, the latest toll taken in 2013 on suicide within college settings is 11.1 deaths per 100,000 people (Scelfo, 2015). According to the article Suicide on Campus and the Pressure of Perfection, Pennsylvania State University had six students commit suicide in a 13-month stretch (Scelfo, 2015). Suicide within college settings are usually linked with severe depression. As mentioned by Kevin Breel in the Confessions of a Depressed Comic Ted Talk, depression is not sadness, real depression is being sad when everything in your life is going right and this, this I can personally relate to.
In this article, the author provides a description of various institutional changes, ranging from policy changes to information dissemination, that is designed to prevent suicide on college campuses in the United States. The purpose of this article is not to offer an extensive review of campus-wide suicide prevention measures. Rather it is to outline recent information on campus suicides in the United States and to highlight reports from professional and mainstream sources, including monthly publications and websites, concerning institutional changes arising from and designed to decrease campus
Being an undergraduate as an adult is strange. It’s at once unnerving and inspiring. It’s not a unilateral experience, but there are commonalities between adult students; there are a lot of them.
Suicide is the intentional act of killing oneself. Typically individuals who commit suicide act out of despair. Common suicide triggers are mental disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and alcoholism and drug abuse. Personal issues such as financial problems or poor interpersonal relationships play a significant role in the cause of suicide (Gross, 2006).In the U.S suicide is the 6th cause of death. Suicide is also the leading cause of death among teenagers and young adults, more men commit suicide than women (Gelder et al, 2005).Leenar and Lester article mention important information about the general knowledge about suicide in college students. However relevant information is missing.
The transition into college can be one of the most exciting times in a young adult’s life. They are starting a new chapter in their lives that may have a lasting effect on their future. Many new friendships will be made, along with countless amounts of changes in their life including new habitat, change in income, workload amounts, and
College life is an exciting time for young adults coming out of high school. The students find themselves with so many new experiences to face; many of these changes, from new found freedom to the unexpected responsibilities, are frequently underestimated by the newly promoted freshman.
Suicide is a severe community health matter which can have lifelong negative consequences on individuals, families, and the society. Reduce suicidal risk factors and increase protective measures are the main objective of suicide prevention. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defined suicide as the “death caused by self-directed injurious behavior with intent to die as a result of the behavior; suicide attempt is “A non-fatal, self-directed, potentially injurious behavior with an intent to die as a result of the behavior; might not result in injury’; and suicidal ideation is “thinking about, considering, or planning suicide” (2015).
Every suicide effects more than the individual’s life, in truth it impacts families, communities and economic well-being of our nation. According, Piscopo, Lipari, Cooney, and Glasheen, (2016) “Suicide is an important public health problem in the United States and a tragedy for all involved—families, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and communities. In 2014, suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in the United States overall.1 Among people aged 10 to 34, suicide was the second highest cause of death, and for those aged 35 to 54, it was the fourth highest cause of death” (p. 2).
Each year in the United States approximately 30,000 or 12.93 per 100,00 (prevalence) persons die each year as a result of suicide with an additional 500,000 making a failed attempt. However, in 2013 the official number of reported deaths by suicide totaled 41,149 or 1.6 percent of all reported deaths in the U.S, thereby making suicide the 10th leading cause of death (American Association of Suicidology, 2015). When comparing global suicide statistics, the U.S. ranks 47th amongst the 116 countries included in the study, and although other countries fair far worse, it is important to note, suicide is preventable (World Health Rankings, 2014). These startling statistics are reversible if, we as a society act to dismantle the stigma associated with both emotional and mental disorders given they are often the precursor of suicidal ideation.
The transition from high school to college is a dynamic time in one’s life that parallels the change from childhood to adulthood. Both of these changes are dramatic and, as a result, feelings are difficult to put down into words. A messy combination of emotions fills the heart, surfacing in strange ways. Confident high school seniors go right back to the bottom of the chain when entering college as freshmen. These students start all over, just like entering grade school or high school for the first time. The move up from high school to college signals the switch from dependence to self-sufficiency. From a personal point of view, going through the experience of graduating high school and transferring to a residential college campus at STLCOP, made me realize I was no longer a kid and capable of making my own decisions.
At some point in one’s life they may believe that the only solution to their physical or mental problem is suicide. Although, we think that the majority of people who try to commit suicide just want attention. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the in the United States in 2013, bypassing homicide which came in at 16th place (Facts & Figures, 2014). The facts indications by the CDC estimate that someone will commit suicide in the United States every 13 minutes (Facts & Figures, 2014). Unlike most common disease’s suicide does not discriminate against age, or sex, or social class, it is estimated that males represent 79 percent of the people who do commit suicide in the United States (Facts & Figures, 2014).
It can be prevented. How many times through the years have we heard this said about suicide? It seems that every time there is a suicide we get a lesson on how suicide is preventable. If suicide is so preventable than why is the suicide rate increasing among college students? According to the SPP (Suicide Prevention Program) for college students, every year in the United States, approximately 1,100 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 commit suicide, and nearly 24,000 attempt it.” Suicide among college students is a persistent problem, especially among college freshman. The fact that suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students is mind blowing. Webster's dictionary defines suicide as “the act or an instance of taking one’s own life voluntarily and intentionally.” Why do people, like college students who seemingly have their entire future ahead of them, simply give up and turn away from life?” We may never find the answer to this question but we can learn the warning signs of suicide and be better prepared to handle and thus prevent suicide attempts.
The fourth, and final emotional challenge faced by adult learners that Kasworm discusses, is “gaining a place, a position, a voice, and a related sense of valued self in the cultural worlds of higher education” (Kasworm). It’s hard for adults to socially negotiate the expected demands in relation to the college setting. They have to figure out how they, as an adult, fit into that traditional college student role, which can be very challenging due to the large gap in cultural and social
For first year students coming straight from high school, college life can either be very exciting or overwhelming depending on how well one prepares for it. Some have the notion that college is fun and is all about partying, while some believe that it is an environment in which they can achieve the ultimate freedom thus escape the stringent rules made by their parents at home. Others look forward to experiencing a different learning environment while being exposed to different cultures and sharing different academic knowledge. Successful assimilation into college life is determined by the student’s capability to transform into the new role of a college student. Numerous students face challenges they have never experienced before which can