Suicide Among Adolescents Suicide is a common occurrence among adolescents in the United States. Suicide is defined as, “death caused by self-directed injurious behavior with an intent to die as a result of the behavior” (CDC, 2015). According to John Santrock (2014), “Suicide is the third leading cause of death in adolescence and emerging adulthood” (p. 67). This alarming fact brings parents and communities to examine what causes suicide, how often it occurs, what solutions can be presented to prevent this occurrence, and how suicide can be considered from a biblical perspective. Suicide can be caused by factors such as genetics, family, social situations, culture, and media influences (Hawton, Saunders, & O’Connor, 2012). Thankfully with
Even though the topic of suicide may be uncomfortable for most, parents and communities must address the issue in order for it to get better. Parents and communities can use programs that screen for issues such as depression and suicide risk to further prevent suicide occurrences (Bursztein & Apter, 2008). Parents also should know the warning signs of suicide. Signs of suicidal tendencies can include change in eating or sleeping, withdrawal from friends, families, and activities, drug or alcohol use, and even violent behavior (“Teen Suicide”, 2013). Adolescents may even “beat themselves up”, give away favorite things, or may even express they want to “kill themselves” (“Teen Suicide”, 2013). Parents should let their children see a psychiatrist if they suspect any of symptoms mentioned. A psychiatrist may help in ways friends, families, and even teachers cannot. By knowing these warning signs, parents and friends can help those who have suicidal thoughts obtain help. Parents could even spend more time with their children and talk about why their child may feel this way. Educators can learn the warning signs, help if they see an issue, and let the child know that they are loved and wanted. The most vital aspect in preventing suicide is making someone feel like they are needed, wanted, and loved. Some adolescents feel as if they are “problems for their parents” (“Teen Suicide”, 2013). By letting the adolescents know that they mean something and their lives have purpose, hopefully the death of adolescents can be prevented. By encouraging these things, these adolescents can go on to lead happier, healthier lives. These teens could fulfill what God desires as well as what they desire for
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...
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.
The main argument in this article is that there needs to be more ways to help people that are suicidal. The main point of this article is that they want to people to be more aware of how to help someone, and it is also full of information. The topics that are covered in the article are the issues at hand, the background with suicide in teens, and the next step that society needs to take. This article is about helping people that are suicidal and how to help them and let us know the next step that we need to take.
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
Modern philosophy stipulates that the will to preserve one’s life as long as possible is a fundamental aspect of basic logic and reason. The will to survive as long as possible is described as an innate and natural instinct of being human. Based on this philosophical reasoning, it is inherently illogical and irrational to willingly put an end to one’s life. Sociologists, psychologists and psychiatrists have also condemned suicide by stating that it is associated with mental, social and physical ill-being and that those who commit suicide are not in a rational state of mind. These scientific and philosophical approaches to suicide have contributed to formally documenting suicide as a wrong, irrational and immoral act. The problem is that these approaches see suicide in a generalized manner and do not take into account sub-types and different kinds of suicide such as euthanasia for example, which is physician-assisted and intentional suicide in the case of a terminally ill patient with no possibility of recovering from his or her medical condition. Technological developments in medicin...
A mother finds her 17 year old teenage son hanging from the rafters of their basement. To hear of this occurrence is not rare in society today. Every 90 minutes a teenager in this country commits suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15-24 year olds. The National suicide rate has increased 78% between 1952 and 1992. The rate for 15-19 year olds rose from two per 100,000 to 12.9, more than 600 percent. (Special report, Killing the Pain, Rae Coulli)
Suicide is the second leading cause of death in teens. Most teens commit suicide mainly because of bullying which pushes teens over the edge; because they believe what their peers say about them. Studies show that more teens are dying in this generation than any other generation due to suicide. Bullying is the biggest cause of teen suicide because it pushes people to believe that it is the only way out, makes people feel worthless, and causes the most mental problems in teens.
Teen suicide should never be on the minds of our youth. It’s a dreadful circumstance that happens almost on a daily basis. I chose this topic for my core assessment because I can relate to this topic. My cousin committed suicide when he was 19 years old. The pain and suffering that we as a family went through can’t even be described. Some say that people who commit suicide are selfish cowards who don’t think of their families when they act. Others say that the individual isn’t in their right mind to comprehend what is going on. I usually tend to lean towards the last assumption because personally, I feel that my cousin never committed suicide, his state of mind did. Teen suicide is one of the leading causes of death for adolescents in addition to accidents such as vehicles and drugs. My future career in law enforcement will deal with teen suicides. It’s inevitable. In addition, it’s the police officers responsibility as well as the families, and schools to detect the risk and prevent these suicidal behaviors by these teenagers. Yet, how are people supposed to know what teens are feeling deep down inside? Most teenagers can hide or act their feelings like professionals. Personally the best way to know what your teens are thinking or going through is talk to them on a daily basis; whether it’s at the dinner table or even while watching television. These measures will change your teenager’s life because he/she will know that someone cares and loves them.
Approximately, five teenagers attempted suicide each day (Haesler 2010 para. 1). The fact makes some group of people (especially the ones who are part of the society) concerned. Somehow, youth suicide will result in an unintentional sign for help (Carr-Gregg 2003, para. 1). Communities related to the victims will be affected mentally and they will feel grief, pain, and loss that are so great that it overcomes the economic ...
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).
Teen suicide as an extremely complex tragedy, that unfortunately happens all the time throughout the United States. There are friends, parents, and peers that are facing the misfortune of losing a young, close, loved one to suicide. Most people don't realize that adolescent suicide is common. They don't want to believe how often this occurs in the secure environment found in the small towns of America, as well as in its largest cities.
Suicide takes the lives of nearly 30,000 Americans annually. This project is to set awareness and get help for students who are under a lot of stress and want to commit suicide and have depression thoughts. The featured organization is to make people talk more about their problems; if they are feeling suicidal they should talk to someone and get help immediately. A suicidal person may not ask for help, but that doesn't mean that they don't need help. They don’t want to die, they want to stop the pain and suffering. It’s imperative to comfort suicidal students in any way possible. The audience for this work are for students who are feeling that no one cares, and for people that have a friend that are suicidal. Suicide prevention starts with recognizing the warning signs and taking them seriously. Need help? Call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
Now the eighth-leading cause of death overall in the U.S. and the third-leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years, suicide has become the subject of much recent focus. U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, for instance, recently announced his Call to Action to Prevent Suicide, 1999, an initiative intended to increase public awareness, promote intervention strategies, and enhance research. The media, too, has been paying very close attention to the subject of suicide, writing articles and books and running news stories. Suicide among our nation’s youth, a population very vulnerable to self-destructive emotions, has perhaps received the most discussion of late. Maybe this is because teenage suicide seems the most tragic—lives lost before they’ve even started. Yet, while all of this recent focus is good, it’s only the beginning. We cannot continue to lose so many lives unnecessarily.
Though many suicidal people do not show signs, there are some that do. If you think someone you know may be suicidal, watch for these signs: increasing drug or alcohol use, exhibiting rage or anger, talking about wanting to die or kill oneself, isolating or withdrawing oneself, behaving recklessly, and mood swings (“Understanding Suicide And Self Harm”). If you think someone is contemplating suicide you should trust your instincts. Talk to the person about your concerns and make sure to really listen to them. Ask them questions, but do not judge them. You should seek professional help and make sure they are never alone (“Suicide”).
Suicide in adolescents is the third-leading cause of death in the United States between the ages of 10 though 19 (National Center for Health Statistics, 2012, 292). More adolescents who think even about attempting suicide are mostly the ones who are unsuccessful at it. Females for example, are more likely than males to attempt to commit suicide by either over dosing on sleeping pills or self harming. Most adolescents’ girls will not succeed in actually committing suicide. Males on the other hand, use more drastic ways of committing suicide, adolescent boys usually with a firearm rather than another meth...