"Suicide is the third- leading cause of death for 15 to 24 year olds", according to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention "after accidents and homicides" (as cited in Feldman, 2012, p.364). This information is unpleasant to know because there is something wrong that make it happen. There are many factors involved in a suicide. Nock has noted that "adolescence is the time of sexual identity and relationships and a need for independence that often conflicts with the rules and expectations set by others"(as cited in New, 2012, para.8). An adolescent could feel pressure from their parents, teachers, and friends so that adolescent may deal with a big obstacle.
Girls mostly kill themselves with overdose of medication, when boys use handguns. Certain teens have a higher risk for suicide then others (Peacock, 16). Teens with a different sexuality have a higher risk of suicide then other teens from others. The ones that come out often threaten and become an outcast. This problem is growing and needs to be taken more seriously.
Teen suicide happens due to abuse, depression, and bullies; it should be prevented. There are as many as eight to 25 attempted suicides to one completed suicide. Males are four times more likely to die from suicide than females. Firearms are used in over half of youth suicides. Teen suicide leads to family issues, loss of a family member, and depression in the family.
Today’s teenagers are faced with the ever changing world around them and the biological changes of their bodies. Many teens are also faced with depression. Approximately half of teenagers with untreated depression may attempt suicide, which remains the third leading cause of death in this age group. (Bostic). This depression affects their school, family lives, and robs them of their self image.
First of all, the causes of suicide among teens are numerous and various. The reasons cannot be pinpointed to just one cause, but we can identify the most common reasons for suicide. Bullying is a problem for most teens in high school, but this combined with stress, anger, or depression, can become catastrophic for a developing, young adult. Depression is also a contributor to suicide; depression is a condition in which the effected is uncontrollably sad, and sometimes for no reason at all, which is enough to make anyone contemplate suicide. Another leading cause, and major problem amongst teens, is substance abuse.
There are about eighty deaths for teenage suicide every day in the United States, and there are about one thousand five hundred teens that attempt suicide. Many fail suicide, which is a good thing. After trying to attempt suicide for the first time, many can attempt to cry for help before a second attempt is made. People need to keep in mind that if a person turns to suicide and achieves suicide, there is nothing a community can do. But there are always many ways in which people can help suicidal teens.
Suicide and Children Suicide has become much more common in children than it used to be. For children under age 15, about 1-2 out of every 100,000 children will commit suicide. For those 15-19, about 11 out of 100,000 will commit suicide. These are statistics for children in the USA. Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death for children ages 10-14 and the third leading cause of death for teenagers 15-19.
“ 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).
According to bullyingstatistics.org, a recent study states that “gay and lesbian teens are two or three times as more likely to commit teen suicide than other youths. About 30 percent of all completed suicides have been related to sexual identity crisis.” Many individuals see that the LGBT community goes against what is considered “normal” and is seen as a threat to heterosexuality, this is why it is not accepted. The individuals that are questioning their sexuality fear for their lives and still struggle to accept it and come out because of the reaction of the people around them. This leads to the act of committing
Teenage Suicide Suicide is the act of a human being purposely causing his or her own death. Many teenagers commit suicide and there are many reasons why. Most teenagers may think suicide is an easy way out and a way of trying to break away from their feelings because they can’t handle the pain that they are dealt with. There are many mixed feelings of these teens, such as depression, and there are many teenagers that committed suicide that could have been prevented. Teenage suicide is a growing event taking part in today’s society and teenagers take their own life because of the many pressures, stresses, bullying, and many other things they are faced with.