Suicide rates in the US are continuing to grow each year. With the numbers significantly rising, suicide is a major health concern that needs to be addressed. In 2010, suicide accounted for nearly 38,364 deaths in the United States, which is a 16% increase since 1999 (Caine, 2013). Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in our nation, but more specifically it ranks as the 3rd leading cause of death among adolescents in the US. Greater attempts to figure out the underlying cause behind youth suicide are being made because the number of deaths is continuing to increase. Many risk factors are associated with adolescent suicide, but one that is aggressively surfacing more and more today is bullying. Research and reports have found that bullying is a stressor that significantly increases the rate of adolescent suicide (Litwiller & Brausch, 2013). The objective of this paper is to discuss the reasons why bullying leads to adolescent suicide, the different forms of bullying that are linked to it, and the ways to fix this important issue.
Bullies are individuals who are trying to gain a dominant position by using aggressive behaviors towards others. Bullying can range anywhere between the forms of physical, verbal, social (rumor spreading), and cyber. Physical, verbal, and social bullying are all considered traditional forms of bullying, while cyber bullying is a newer form that is quickly gaining popularity due to constant advancements in technology. All of these forms can lead to an increase in adolescent suicide rates, but some are at higher risk than others.
Researchers Bauman, Toomey, and Walker (2013) used a risk behavior survey on 1491 high school students to find a gender difference between the affects traditional bullying a...
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Litwiller, B. J., & Brausch, A. M. (2013). Cyber bullying and physical bullying in adolescent suicide: The role of violent behavior and substance use. Journal Of Youth And Adolescence, 42(5), 675-684. doi:10.1007/s10964-013-9925-5
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“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Martin Luther King Jr. knew it was better to speak up than to stay quiet. This is a lesson that needs to be taught throughout both middle schools and high schools. All around the world, suicide rates are going up, and most of these cases relate back to bullying. The children often do not say anything because they are afraid the bullying will only get worse. When nothing changes, they are driven to suicide to relieve the pain that they are feeling. As Marge Piercy examines in “Barbie Doll,” students are picked on for being or looking different than others. No matter what type of bullying it may be, it hurts people more than they are willing to let on. All forms of bullying, whether it be in schools, physical, verbal, or online, have an impact on teen suicide ideation.
My friend, Kevin, was just two short months away from graduating high school, but he never got to see that day because of bullies. No one had a clue; he had a remarkable family and a great group of friends. He did everything he could to leave a smile on everyone’s face, and he earned the nickname, “Cheeks,” because of his huge, friendly smile. No one understood why such a cheerful person would want to take his own life, but it was because bullies harassed him for months, and no one knew. According to the Center for Disease Control, “Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year” (Bullying and Suicide). Bullying is an ongoing issue that seems to evolve rapidly, and the world of
Bullying has become a major problem facing the United States today. The American Psychological Association reports that roughly 40% to 80% of children are involved in bullying on some level during their time in school. (APA, 2014) The magnitude of the problem can be observed in the statistics. In the United States, a total of 4,080,879 children between the ages of five and 18 have been the victims of bullying compared to 3,892,199 who have reported that they have engaged in bullying someone else. Additionally, 851,755 said that they have been both the victim and the bully. That's a whopping 8,824,833 people in the United States that have been involved in bullying behavior on one level or another. (High, B., 2000 Census)
Suicide due to bullying has been given the name of bullycide. One example of bullycide would be Jon Carmichael from Texas who was bullied so harshly that “one day they stripped him naked, tied him up, and stuck him in a trash can, and they taped it with their cell phones and put it all on You Tube” per his mother’s account (Texas Monthly, Hollandsworth). A few days later Jon was found hanging by a rafter from their barn after committing suicide. The perpetrators of this abuse were his fellow classmates and it is reported that “60% of boys who bullied others in middle school had at least one criminal conviction by the age of 24; 40% had three or more convictions” (van der Valk, 41). Bullying behavior not only negatively affects the victims that are singled out and tormented, but from a legal perspective can lead to long term criminal
Cyberbullying cannot remain denied as an issue in schools, at home, and in neighborhood communities because research displays increase in suicide and incident rates are caused by bullying. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year, according to the CDC. For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts and over 14 percent of high school students have considered suicide, with almost 7 percent already attempting it. (Bullying and Suicide, 1) According to Bullying Statistics, over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyberbullying.
Identities And The Association Between Bullying And Suicide Attempt Among New York City Youths: Results From The 2009 New York City Youth Risk Behavior Survey." American Journal Of Public Health 103.6 (2013): 1082-1089. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Source 2: Hinduja, S.& Patchin, J. W. Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Suicide. Archives of Suicide Research (14), 2010:206-221.
Eating disorders. Anger problems. Suicide. When hearing these words, many things come to mind, but the most important thing to know about these words is that they are directly related to teen violence. The website “Family First Aid” tells us that teen suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death amongst adolescents in the United States and half of these yearly suicides are due to teen violence. Many people believe that slight cases of teen violence are just part of being a kid, when in fact they can have extremely awful and life changing effects on teenagers. It is important that we as a society acknowledge that teen violence is a problem and do something about it. Bullying, cyber bullying and abusive relationships are three serious acts of violence that occur on a daily basis in the lives of today’s teens. These acts of violence can even push their teen victims into developing eating disorders, anger issues and thoughts of suicide; but, with the help of parents and student bodies as a whole, we can form awareness and support groups to discourage teen violence and inform the victims of how to cope with it before these things take over their young lives.
Approximately twelve, 8-10 year old children commit suicide every year because they are victims of bullying. Whereas 1.3 million children a year bully others. What is bullying? As defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a "bully" is one who hurts or intimidates others. This assault may occur in two principle forms, verbal or physical. There are specific reasons why bullying happens and specific solutions that could help save as many as 12 lives a year.
Perren, S., Dooley, J., Shaw, T., & Cross, D. (2010). Bullying in school and cyberspace: Associations with depressive symptoms in Swiss and Australian adolescents. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 4 (28).
Cyber Bullying And Physical Bullying In Adolescent Suicide: The Role Of Violent Behavior And Substance Use." Journal Of Youth & Adolescence 42.5 (2013): 675-684. Academic Search Complete. Web.
Bullying is an issue that has been around for decades and is something that can affect everyone, no matter what his or her age is. Even though bullying has changed over the years from being physical abuse and harassment that happens on the playgrounds of schoolyards to tormenting over the Internet. The same groups are still affected namely adolescents. Statistically about 30 percent of all teenagers in the United States are bullied in one-way or another (“Teenage Bullying”).
Being a victim of bullying can be linked to suicidal thoughts as well as behavior in adolescents. Other causes might also include having family problems at home, problems at work, school and or with school peers. Suicide is a serious problem, though it not only affects the victim, but it also affects family members, loved ones, along with friends. Suicide in adolescents is the third-leading cause of death in the United States between the ages of 10 and 19 (National Center for Health Statistics, 2012, 292). More adolescents who think about attempting suicide are mostly the ones who are unsuccessful at it.
“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” These words have been repeated countless times, but they are not accurate. In truth, words can kill. Bullying has become a highlighted problem within our society, and bullying in the school systems is even more prominent. According to the news, there are countless cases of bullying, many of which do not have happy endings. The rates of suicide due to bullying are currently higher than they have ever been before. Suicide is the third top causes of death in young people within the United States, averaging at 4,400 deaths a year, with over 50% of these deaths as a result of some sort of bullying. Studies also show that there are 100 suicide attempts for every one successful suicide performed (“Bullying and Suicide”). These numbers are disturbingly high. Bullying is affecting more kids in ways that some adults may never understand. The fact that words and actions can lead to cutting and suicides is still a distant concept to some and needs to be brought to immediate attention. Laws are now being put into place to prevent these tragedies, but what is really being done to prevent them within the schools or even within the students’ homes? There is a lot of finger pointing when it comes to this topic. But we all want to know what the cause is behind this nationwide crisis and who is responsible for it.
Too many adults seem to think that bullying is just part of being a kid, but it isn’t, and it has a negative and sometimes long lasting effect on others. Bullying Statistics show that “Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year, according to the CDC. For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts. Over 14 percent of high school students have considered suicide, and almost 7 percent have attempted it.” What some people do not realize is that there are many different types of bullying that include physical bullying, emotional bullying, sexting, and cyberbullying. There are many warning signs of suicide. Depression, interest in death or dying, engaging in harmful activities (e.g. substance abuse, reckless behavior, and self-injury), giving away personal possessions, saying goodbye to people, and making comments about how life would be better off without them. If you are hearing or seeing any of these warning signs, take action! According to Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection about Bullying, there can also be negative mental health issues, anxiety and