Reasons why Suicide Rates are so High for Teenagers - Report Example

Reasons why suicide rates are so high for teenagers Teen suicide is a growing problem that is on the rise. In the United States, it remains comparatively high around the age of 15- 24 years age group with over 4,000 reported cases making it one of the leading causes of death in the age group. It is the second leading cause of death among the teenagers, a close second to automobile accidents. According to analysts, some of the car accidents are actually considered forms of suicide and the suicide deaths may actually be the leading causes of teenage death. It is important to take threats of suicide very seriously as even threats considered as jokes can mask to a sincere desire for the people to harm themselves. It is thus important to seek help for a friend who threats to commit suicide or makes repeated jokes of harming themselves. From school statistics, nearly one out six-school students has considered committing suicide and one in 12 have actually attempted it (Zayas et al., 275). Male teenagers are considered to commit suicide at a rate five times higher than the females. However, the suicide attempts of the females are three times frequent as those of the males. A possible explanation of the above rates is that male attempted suicide entails the utilization of firearm use that has a 78 percent to 90 percent chance of fatality. On the other hand, females will attempt different methods of suicide such as ingesting poison and drug overdose that are usually less effective methods. The rate of teenage suicide is on the rise. In 2009, the rate was 6.3 percent, and the rate rose to 7.8 by 2012. The number of suicide cases is gaining national attention, as more cases are being reported (Moskos, Achilles, and Gray, 180). It is, therefore, important to determine to the reasons that have led to the increased cases to determine possible call of action to reduce these alarming rates. The reasons why suicide cases are becoming so prevalent among the adolescents is still a mystery, but analysts have some explanation as to why teenagers are predisposed to committing suicide. According to Hawton and van Heeringen, there are three most common factors considered for contributing to the high suicide rates that include; teens are considered to have an immorality complex in which they do not appear to grasp the finality of death. This causes them just to think of death when faced with challenges and commit suicide. The adolescent also have reactive immaturity in which they have not yet fully developed enough maturity of control. Emotional reactivity to hurtful and harmful occurrences and broad hormonal fluctuations leading to irrational thought processes and depression are also considered reasons as to why there is an increased rate of suicide among the teenagers. In the school and at the community, peer pressure is at its most influential peak during the teen years. This causes the teens to bully each other and exclusion by other peers can make the teens being bullied to lose hope in life choosing suicide as the only way out or a means of gaining attention from the other peers that ignore them. This is prevalent especially in the early years of school. Students struggle with suicide more during their first two years in high school, as the instances of bullying and mistreatment by other children, are high. Suicidal rates usually drop off slightly when the students reach junior and senior stages in school. Various reasons have been proposed explaining the rise of teenage suicide in the recent years. It has become very easy for the teens to get tools for suicide as compared to the later days causing the increase of the cases. Boys can easily access firearms such as guns to commit suicide while the girls can easily access drugs i.e. over the counter medications for committing suicide. The pressure from the modern life has become greater causing the adolescents to commit suicide when they do not get pleasures and things that they want in life. They feel isolated and rejected causing them to commit suicide. Other pressures include completion for good grades in classes as well as increased violence in television and newspapers programs exposing them. Electronics are encouraging the adolescent to engage in risky behaviors i.e. movies and CDC that are easily and readily available. Poor parental care, whereby the parents lack parental interest in their children has been considered as another of the factors giving rise to increased cases of teenage suicide. In the current society, many children end up growing up in divorced households. In other instances, the parents are busy with their work and will spend a little time with their children. This results to little understanding between the family and the child. According to a study conducted by Young et al. (2014), 90 percent of suicidal teenagers said that their families never understood them. When the teens try to explain their views of failure and unhappiness to their parents, they parents normally ignore or deny their point of view increasing the rate of suicidal thoughts among the affected and they end up committing suicide. Teenagers face a number of challenges such as social rejection and breakups at this period in relationships that are major factors that make them commit suicide. The teens may be deliberately excluded from social relationships and interactions i.e. peer, romantic and familial rejection causing dis-engagement from the rest. During this period of adolescent, the teens are discovering themselves, and they need support from their parents and friends. Lack of support and persons to talk to leads to isolation predisposing them to commit suicide. Rejection becomes a major problem when it is prolonged or consistent, when a teen is highly sensitive to rejection and when the relationship is important (Hawton and van Heeringen, 1374). Breaks-up and dissolution of cohabiting relationship during this time is very painful as the relationship is less socially recognized, and the majority of the teens will consider suicide to deal with such situations. Depression, eating disorders and substance abuse all contribute to increased instances of suicide among the youth. Drug abuse results from poor parental and teachers care in schools and homes causing addiction. The drugs predispose the individual to suicidal thoughts while others develop other conditions such as depression and mental illnesses especially in the predisposed families. Such individuals will likely end up committing suicide if help is not provided (Young et al., 137). Suicide is preventable, and if suspected, it is important to take prompt action. Improving mental health among the teens is important to reduce suicidal thoughts. Effective prevention strategies are important for promoting awareness of suicide as well as encouraging commitment to social change. Limiting young people access to lethal weapons such as firearms is important in reducing cases of suicide. It is important to develop school awareness programs and campaigns to enhance awareness of the problem by providing knowledge on the causes, detection and prevention measures to combat the problem. Threats to suicide should be taken seriously to reduce the cases. Work citied Hawton, Keith, and Kees van Heeringen. “Suicide.” Lancet 373 (2009): 1372–1381. Moskos, Michelle Ann, Jennifer Achilles, and Doug Gray. “Adolescent Suicide Myths in the United States.” Crisis 2004 : 176–182. Young, Robert et al. “Why Alternative Teenagers Self-Harm: Exploring the Link between Non-Suicidal Self-Injury, Attempted Suicide and Adolescent Identity.” BMC psychiatry 14 (2014): 137. Zayas, Luis H et al. “Why Do so Many Latina Teens Attempt Suicide? A Conceptual Model for Research.” The American journal of orthopsychiatry 75 (2005): 275–287. Read More