Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for high school students after accidents and homicide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC 2010). There are many factors that contribute to teenagers wishing to end their lives. Stress, confusion, family issues, academic pressure, and hormones are just a few to name. Most of the risk factors that should be given the most attention to, are the ones that are overlooked. However, there are some things that cause suicide that are not noticed until it is too late. The factors that are overlooked and the ones that are sometimes undetectable will be analyzed. More often than not, teenagers see suicide as the only resolution to their problems. A lot of young people deal with …show more content…
“ The largest contributor of depression amongst teenagers these days are interpersonal relationships and academic pressures. Apart from relationship and academic pressure, many young people also plunge into depression because of family problems and unrealistic parental expectations. These days, frustration among adolescents is pretty high while the threshold of tolerance is low.” ("Depression in Teenagers," 2010)The inability to completely endure the complications that exist in their lives provoke suicidal thoughts, whether wanted or unwanted. Thoughts of suicide are believed to be a critical component of suicide attempts. “Clinical samples of adolescents experiencing more severe levels of suicidal ideation were more likely to attempt suicide than those adolescents experiencing lower levels of ideation (Bettes and Walker, 1986; Carlson and Cantwell, 1982). Although the matter is not excused, many parents cannot detect when their child is depressed or suicidal until it is too late. This may be because teenagers are constantly going through hormonal changes that could mask their depression to everyone else. Mood swings, the desire to sleep all the time, isolation when one is upset, and the loss of interest in things could be seen as hormonal …show more content…
950 psychiatrists and psychologists were recruited by researchers from Emory University to perform a new study, known as Q-factor, that would help distinguish personality characteristics that set apart suicidal teenagers from non suicidal teenagers. “Q-factor analysis is also called inverted factor analysis because it aggregates patients rather than variables, identifying people with similar profiles across a set of items instead of items with similar content across cases,” ( Sinclair, 2011). Each clinician was given a patient that had no current diagnosis and was asked to analyze their personalities based on their thoughts, feelings, motives, and behavior. Of those 950 patients, 267 of them had attempted suicide at some point in their lives. Based on their findings of these 267 patients 6 subtypes were found: internalizing, high functioning, narcissistic, emotionally dysregulated, immature and externalizing. The externalizing group was the subtype that made up the majority of all subtypes. It was concluded that those who made up this subtype typically attempted suicide less lethally and in part was why that group was made up by younger adolescents. “The externalizing subtype comprised the largest group of adolescents, characterized by substance abuse, attachment disruption, and being the victim of childhood physical abuse.”(Sinclair) The internalizing subtype was the
Teen suicide can result from a number of scenarios. When you hear of teens who commit suicide, a lot of people would think it's due to the most common cases which are unhappiness or depression. But in fact, there are different factors to what causes suicide. For an example, as stated in the article Teen Suicide from Kids Health, teens attempt suicide for multiple reasons. These reasons revolve around psychological problems such as anxiety, bipolar disorders, or drug abuse or even dealing with bisexuality or homosexuality in an unsupportive family or hostile school environment. The individuals who usually face th...
Approximately 24% of 12-17 year olds have considered suicide and up to 10% have attempted suicide.” (Suicide Intervention Training PG 3). Teens today are very likely to commit suicide for various reasons. In today’s society there are a lot of judging and bullying cases around the world. No matter how much we promote a bully free zone there will always be a couple of cliques, or individuals, who want to bring others down and who do not know the seriousness of bullying. Although bullying is a big cause of suicide, the leading cause is a mental illness that many people are familiar with called depression. “Psychiatric disorders can affect diverse aspects of an individual’s life.”( Dispelling Myth Surrounding Teen Suicide, PG 1). If you or someone you know seems down most of the time, the best thing to do is to go see someone about your despair. If you are diagnosed with depression, prescribed depression medicine can help and can be one way to prevent suicidal thoughts or actions. “There is a lot of evidence that suicide is preventable.”(Cont. Principles of Suicide Prevention, PG
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Suicide is the third leading cause of death among adolescents, accounting for a greater number of deaths than the next seven leading causes of death combined for 15- to 24-year-olds, Almost 1 in 12 adolescents in high school made a suicide attempt, and 17% of adolescents seriously considered making a suicide attempt, in the calendar year 2005 (CDC,
There are many things which can drive a teen to commit suicide some of them are as simple as making fun of the “fat” kid in class; others can come from the mental images from witnessing a shooting. There are four major issues which contribute to teen suicide such as depression, family problems, risk factors, and teens reactions to there climate. Depression, unfortunately, is one of the biggest factors of today’s teenage suicide problems and some of the reasons for it are from the student’s own peers, “being depressed is triggered by loss or rejection (Joan 59).” Depression can be f...
In 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention established that 6.3% of high school students have attempted suicide in the preceding year. Given the lethal consequences of suicide attempts, determining risk factors among adolescents becomes especially important. Generally speaking, psychiatric disorders and substantial psychosocial impairments are known to be associated with suicide attempts. However, previous research attempting to identify specific risk factors in adolescents is somewhat ambiguous. Nonetheless, one thing is consistent. When measuring the risk of an adolescent committing suicide, information must come from a variety of sources and perspectives. These sources may include but are not limited to a clinical interview with the adolescent, information provided by the parent or guardian, standardized assessments and previous psychiatric documents from the individual.
There are many risk factors associated with suicidal ideation and attempts. Risk factors include self-destructive behavior which may be related to life events, unfavourable home environments, or a genetic component. Personality traits like aggression and hostility or feeling introverted or hopeless play a role in suicides. Loss of control, poor problem solving techniques, or rigid cognitive life styles are also characteristics of suicides. Similar traits are found in depressive behaviors. Teenagers may have been exposed to others who have had suicidal behaviors.
Depression in teenagers is a very serious condition. Many are thought to be attention seekers, moody or just going through a phase typical of the age, yet, each year the amount of teenagers committing suicide is alarming. Suicide is actually the third leading cause of death in people between the ages of 10 and 24 years old at a rate of approximately 4,600 deaths a year (Pappas, 2016). More teenagers die from committing suicide than from car accidents, cancer, heart disease, stroke, pneumonia, AIDS and influenza combined.
People constantly overlook the severity of depression, more importantly, major teen depression, which presents a legitimate obstacle in society. The intensity of teen depression results from society’s general lack of acknowledgement of the rising affair. In 2012, “28.5% of teens were depressed” and 15.8% of teens contemplated the option of suicide (Vidourek 1 par. 1), due to their major depression going unnoticed or untreated for. Even teenagers themselves often ignore their depression or remain in denial because neither them nor anyone else recognizes the signs. “A sudden change in behavior is a main sign of someone being depressed, which could lead to having suicidal thoughts,” stated Pam Farkas, a clinical social worker in California (Aguilar 1 par. 8). The warning signs and risk factors of teen depression include behavioral issues, social withdrawal, and inadequate interest in activities (Adolescents and Clinical Depression 2 par. 3), yet the unawareness of these signs does not allow professional medical attention to intercede. Deaths, illnesses, rejection, relationship issues, and disappointment present passages down the negative path of teen depression, but treatments, such as psychotherapy, intervention programs, and antidepressants express ways to subdue this major problem. Knowledge of the increasing dilemma needs to circulate, in order to promote stable teen lives in the present and future world. Understanding major teen depression, the events and incidents that lead to depression, and how to overcome the problem will lead to a decrease in major teen depression and its growing issue in society.
The suicide rate for adolescents has increased more than 200% over the last decade.[2] Adolescent suicide is now responsible for more deaths in youths aged 15 to 19 than cardiovascular disease or cancer. Recent studies have shown that greater than 20% of adolescents in the general population have emotional problems and one-third of adolescents attending psychiatric clinics suffer from depression.[3] Despite this, depression in this age group is greatly underdiagnosed, leading to serious difficulties in school, work and personal adjustment which often continue into adulthood.
Today, teenage suicide is considered a big issue in America. Many factors contribute to this action whether it is overdosing on alcohol and drugs, cutting ones wrist with a sharp object, or pulling the trigger of a gun to put an end to their existence. Suicide is on the rise due to many factors such as family issues, social issues, and psychological issues. Increased education and awareness for the victims and their families could drastically reduce the number of suicide attempts yearly.
People have different reasons to die by their own hands. Emotional, environmental, and, mental are the three categories that most people's reasons fall into. Undoubtedly, emotional causes often spur from breakups, or other drastic negative changes in social life. Oftenly, teens will commit suicide to “ escape feelings of pain, rejection, hurt, being unloved, victimization, or loss”(Tracy, 2016). Consequently, when teens have no solutions for their problems they feel that suicide is the solution. “Bullying, cyber bullying, abuse, detrimental home life, loss of a loved one or even a severe breakup” are ways that the environment can increase the chances of voluntary death (Tracy, 2016). Also, “Most teens who attempt suicide do so because of
Teen Suicide edited by Christine Watkins is a non-fiction book on suicide which gives a lot of insight into the causes behind teen suicide. The section of the book called “Teen Suicide Is a Major Health Problem” was only seven pages long, but answered many questions on suicide. The first introduction section gives basic facts and numbers about suicide and suicide rates. Going further, the book mentions behavioral signs and predisposing characteristics that may cause suicidal thoughts. Finally, this chapter of the book goes into ways to prevent teen suicide.
There are multiple negative effects of teen suicide. Large numbers of teens that do not have support from friends, peer groups, family, or religious association may and can feel isolated from the world and disconnected. (Larry’s). The tragedy of a young person dying as a result of overwhelming hopelessness is devastating to everyone. Suicide rates differ between boys and girls. Girls think about and attempt suicide about twice as often as boys, and attempt suicide by overdosing. Boys die by suicide about four times as often as girls, due to using more lethal methods, such as firearms, hanging, or jumping from heights. (Nock). There are several different factors that may lead a teenager to take their life, but the most common is depression. Feelings of hopelessness and anxiety, along with feelings of being trapped in a life that one cannot handle, are contributors to teen suicide. It is important to be on the lookout for signs that your teen may attempt suicide. Some of the warning signs are similar to normal adolescent behavior. At times, preventing teen suicide means treating teen depression. Since 75 percent of the people who commit suicide are depressed (according to the University of Texas), it is a beneficial start to begin treating the symptoms of teen depression. (Teen Suicide Overview).
This essay examines the reasons why a person of good physical health decides to terminate their own life. It does not consider euthanasia, assisted or forced suicide. Compared to most aspects of psychological health it is limited in scope for research – no “follow-up” can be performed, if the act is completed, and no ethical panel would approve experiments to demonstrate a causal link. Suicide has “no one single cause or stressor” according to the Lancet 2011.
Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15 to 24 year olds, and the sixth leading cause for 5 to 14 year olds. Suicide accounts for twelve percent of the mortality in the adolescent and young adult group. Young males are more common than young woman suicides. These are only children who followed through with the suicide. For every successful suicide there are fifty to one hundred adolescent suicide attempts. In other words, more than five percent of all teenagers tried to commit suicide, and the number is still rising. It is scary to think that four percent of high school students have made a suicide attempt within the previous twelve months. In a small safe town like Avon, in the Avon High School where you and I practically live, you can see the faces of 22 students that have tried to commit suicide. That is enough to fill a classroom.