Suicide is undoubtedly a major issue for concern in the United States. Crosby, Han, Ortega, Parks and Gfroerer (2011) reported that 36,035 persons died of suicide and 666,000 persons were seen in emergency departments due to nonfatal, self-inflicted injuries in 2008 in the United States alone. Schwartz and Friedman (2009) assert that college students do not seem to be at higher risk for suicide compared to nonstudents. In their paper on college student suicides they managed to thwart any inclination that college students were at higher risk than of the nonstudent population of the same age bracket. While they believe that previous studies that indicated college students as having a higher prevalence of suicide were skewed by media hype, inaccurate data collection of counselors or poor methodology choices, the risk is still present and a major issue. Schwartz and Friedman do a great job at exploring the limitation of previous studies on suicide amongst college students, but their 2009 study has some limitation of its own. Being that the most recent studies they explored were in 2006 and they published in 2009, there have been tremendous changes to the social environment in the past 8 years. We’ve had a legendary change in presidency, social media has become as ingrained in most people’s lives as ants crawl to their food, the end of a major war and continuation of two other major wars in the middle-east, an economic decline already known as The Great Recession and the media exploitation of several vicious school shootings/suicides to name a few. With all of this change college students do not live in the same environment as they did in 2006 and/or 2009.
Wilcox et al. (2010) reports that suicide is the second most leading cause o...
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..., & Antonelli, K. B. (1990). A factor analysis of six commonly used instruments associated with suicide using college students. Journal of Personality Assessment, 55(3/4), 804-811.
Schwartz, A. J. (2011). Rate, relative risk, and method of suicide by students at 4-year colleges and universities in the United States, 2004-2005 through 2008-2009. Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior, 41(4), 353-371. doi:10.1111/j.1943-278X.2011.00034.x
Schwartz, L. J., & Friedman, H. A. (2009). College student suicide. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 23(2), 78-102. doi:10.1080/87568220902743058
Wilcox, H. C., Arria, A. M., Caldeira, K. M., Vincent, K. B., Pinchevsky, G. M., & O'Grady, K. E. (2010). Prevalence and predictors of persistent suicide ideation, plans, and attempts during college. Journal of Affective Disorders, 127(1-3), 287-294. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2010.04.017
Stress Induced Suicide Julie Scelfo’s “Suicide on Campus and the Pressure of Perfection” first appeared in The New York Times magazine on July 27, 2015. Scelfo discusses the pressure that family, society, and the individual places on themselves to be perfect. This stress ultimately results in college- age students taking their own lives. “Nationally, the suicide rate among 15- to 24-year-olds has increased modestly but steadily since 2007: from 9.6 deaths per 100,000 to 11.1 in 2013.” Scelfo uses an anecdote, statistics, and expert’s observations to successfully portray her stance on this issue.
Her eyes were heavy, her body weak. As she crawled into the bathroom two feet away, Abby felt her body slowly succumbing to the numbness. All of her pain would be gone in less than 10 minutes, so why would she want to turn back? What about the senior trip Abby had planned with her best friend? What about the chair at the dinner table that would now be vacant? A couple of hours later Abby’s family came home from her little sister’s soccer game. Little did they know what they would find as they approached the top of the stairs. Her little sister, Ali, stood still as she looked down at her feet. There on the cold floor lay her big sister, her role model, and her super hero. Ali was crushed when she saw the pill bottle in her hand and the pale color of her skin. Her mom fell to her knees screaming and crying, wondering where she
In the past decade, suicide rates have been on the incline; especially among men. According to the New York Times (2013), “From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans ages 35 to 64 rose by nearly 30 percent… The suicid...
There have been many instances of suicide that have occurred in the past years at universities across the country, and since it is such a sensitive subject, there have not been nearly enough coverage as this topic deserves, considering this issue does not seem to be going away. When collecting data about suicide statistics, the age range is broken down as people ages 15-24, which spans most developmental years. Within this bracket are college-age students and this age-group has by far the most troubling statistics around it.
The survey found gender and parents' education level did not seem to provoke suicidal tendencies, but other demographic factors. These other such factors included age, class standing, race/ethnicity, living arrangement, and fraternity/sorority membership. The questionnaire indicated that freshmen and sophomores were more likely to consider suicide than upper-classmen; students of ethnic/racial backgrounds other than White, Black or Hispanic were more likely to have considered suicide; students who lived alone, with friends/roommates, or parents/guardians were more likely than those who lived with a partner or spouse; students who were members of a fraternity/sorority were less likely to have considered suicide. The components of tobacco, alcohol, and illegal substance use were then configured into the results.
Furthermore, past research has shown that self report intruments have yielded clinically significant results. Specifically, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, Suicide Probability Scale and Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire-Junior High Version were particularly sensitive in measuring risk factors and predicting suicide attempts over a six month period. Despite the sensitivity of these self report measures, one issue remains. Adolescent males commit suicide 3.6 times more than their female counterpoarts. However, males report having suicidal thoughts and report that they consider commiting suicide less frequently than females do. Therefore, there is an obvious gap between the suicidal thoughts that adolescent males report, and actual suicide attempts. Gender therefore becomes a moderator of the value of self reported suicidal ideation amongst adolescents....
Wilkinson P, Kelvin R, Roberts C, Dubika B, Goodyer I (2011) “Clinical & Psychosocial Predictors of Suicide Attempts and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in the Adolescents Depression, Anti-Depressants & Psychotherapy Trial (ADAPT)” The American Journal of Psychiatry 168(5) page 495-501
A young anonymous college freshman tells a story of the depression she faced throughout her first semester of college, through the transition and her roommate issues. Not only did it occur during her first semester, but through her second as well. Unfortunately, the depression overtook her life to the point of her desire to commit suicide. Luckily, she changed her mind in the last second and saved herself (Reachout.com). This young student is not just one of few depressed college students, but she is one of many. Colleges must take more responsibility of mental health issues, like depression, by researching the causes and effects while discovering beneficial treatments that promote the students’ overall well being.
Dokoupil, Tony. A. The "Suicide Epidemic" Newsweek Global 161.19 (2013): 1 Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web.
In the past 35 years the suicide rate for college campuses has tripled (Oswalt 1995). This shows that there is a clear need for something to be addressed within the college community. The recent surveys show that about 10-15% of college students are depressed (Lindsey 2009). Depression can be a debilitating illness especially when many students attend college away from their close friends and family. This could result in students with more suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide. In fact, the number of students with suicidal thoughts has tripled over the past 13 years as the number of students seeking help for depression doubled in the same span (Lindsey 2009). Depression can effect these teens in other areas of their life as well. The students who reported that they were depressed also reported that they considered their health fair or poor (Lindsey 2009). In their cases, depression not only effects them psychologically but also physically. Depression is also known to impair psychosocial development and academic success (Lindsey 2009). With all of these factors put togethe...
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.
In 1996, suicide was the second-leading cause of death among college students, the third-leading cause of death among those aged 15 to 24 years, and the fourth- leading cause of death among those aged 10 to 14 years.
New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004. Print. The. Suicide and Suicidal Behaviors. Suicide : Medline Plus.
“Suicide and Depression”. All About Depression: Overview. All About Self Help, LLC. 5 June 2010. Web. 30 July 2010.
The first and outmost question that comes in my mind is why do college students commit suicide? Why would the quiet, shy chemistry major student sitting next to you in the library jump from his 14th floor dorm? Why would a talented athlete on the basketball team use a gun to kill herself? The causes for committing suicide can range from depression, family and relationship problems, expectations, pressure to succeed and