Teen Suicide In Canada Case Study

Teen suicide rates are on the rise in Canada. Between the years 1952 and 1995, teen suicide levels exploded by more than 600%, leaving Canada with the third highest adolescent suicide rate in the world (Furi & Guimont, 2003). In fact, Canada’s risk of teen suicide is so great that the Parliamentary Research Branch has estimated that between 70 and 80% of all Canadian teens think about committing suicide before they graduate high school (Furi & Guimont, 2003). The thought that a majority of high school students think about ending their own life at some point is difficult to comprehend; yet in British Columbia alone, approximately 500 people commit suicide every single year (Crisis Intervention Center and Suicide Prevention Center of BC, 2014).

This is compounded by the fact that, like many other human behaviors, teenage suicidal behavior is an extremely complex issue that cannot be understood outside of a multidimensional framework. To understand why some teens choose to take their own life, we must take into account individual, familial, social, economic and cultural circumstances (Furi & Guimont, 2003). Thanks to recent research, certain factors have been identified that may help identify and provide support to teens who need it most. Canada’s parliamentary research branch for political and social affairs recently identified three categories of risk factors that have been found to contribute to teen suicide: predisposing factors, precipitating factors, and contributing factors (Furi & Guimont,

(Steinberg, 2013). Additionally, severe depression is not only characterized by emotional symptoms, but also cognitive symptoms, motivational symptoms, and physical symptoms and they tend to cause significant distress or impairment in areas of social relationships, academic success or other areas important to the overall wellbeing and health of the individual (Furi & Guimont, 2003). If the symptoms of depression are persistent, the individual experiencing them may be at a hugely increased risk for suicide. Regrettably, many of these teens go unnoticed. It is estimated that at least eight out of ten teens suffering from severe depression and thoughts of suicide attempt to access support from family members, friends, or other support groups prior to committing an act of suicide, only to have their cries for help ignored or undermined (Furi & Guimont, 2003). Unfortunately, many of the early warning signs of depression and suicidal ideation may be often misunderstood as nothing more than typical teenage angst, thus denying many at-risk youth the support they so desperately need