Suicide Rate for Teenagers and Factors Lead To Suicide - Essay Example

Why is the suicide rate so high for teenagers? Based on statistical data, the suicide rate for high school students in the United States rose from 6.3% in 2009 to 7.8% in 2012. This somehow translates as 1 in 6 high school students committing suicide annually, and 1 in 12 attempting to do it. Moreover, this is relatively more common among freshmen and sophomores, and not as common as juniors and seniors (Neal). On the international scene it is Indian teenagers that rank first among all other countries, particularly in the 15-19 age group with 148 cases per 100,000 women and 58 per 100,000 young men. Overall, in the world, there are 14.5 deaths per 100,000 people of all ages, but suicide remains as the 4th leading cause of death among those aged 15 to 19, with the most common methods of suicide as either hanging or drinking of poison (Caruso). The situation is therefore actually more serious than anyone would think. However, the bigger question remains to be what causes the high suicide rate among teenagers. The answer to this question, according to this question must be a low self-esteem, or any act that would produce this. Self-esteem is one of the most important aspects of being human for it defines and reflects one’s value as a person. This means that one’s self-esteem is the gauge for how much one values himself and consequently for how much one wants to continue existing because of this value. Therefore, if there is no more self-esteem in someone, then he loses value for himself and that he may also lose sight of the meaning of his own existence. Thus, the main cause of suicide among teenagers is most likely a low self-esteem brought about by several external factors. Problems like poverty and abuse are those that correspond to a low self-esteem. Among the teenagers of the Native American tribes and Alaska, the leading cause of suicide is poverty, substance abuse, and physical abuse and neglect (Anderson). All these problems actually arise from poverty. If one is poor, then one basically cannot buy many things that he or she wants, and cannot therefore afford to be at par with one’s peers. One’s self-esteem or one’s equality with his friends or other people of the same age is crucial during one’s adolescence. Therefore, if one rather feels insecure and unjustly treated by life when one cannot do many things because of poverty, he or she may then develop a very low self-esteem. Such a low self-esteem may then translate to the lack of value in one’s existence and then to suicide. Moreover, substance abuse as well as physical, mental and emotional abuse naturally coexists with poverty (Anderson). Abuse is a form of pain and is most likely to cause a poor self-esteem. After all, whenever someone experiences pain, then naturally he experiences displeasure and suffering, and he begins thinking he deserves such pain and suffering. Thus, it is possible that he will try to experience such pain and suffering at a much higher level, which is suicide. Cyberbullying also contributes to low self-esteem and eventually to suicide. In a report by New York Daily News, 20% of high school students said they had been bullied while 16% said they had been cyberbullied through the social media, texting and other electronic means (Neal). Bullying is a form of emotional abuse, and just like any form of abuse, the child who often gets it will somehow eventually think of himself as deserving of such pain and abuse. The low self-esteem that ensues would then translate as someone who wants to either perpetuate the pain and abuse through suicide or to end it with the same method. Aside from cyberbullying, physical bullying itself is also causally linked with suicidal thoughts among adolescents (Seaman). The prevalence of suicidal thoughts and attempted suicides are “significantly related” to actually physical bullying, as proven by research from the Institute of Education and Child Studies in the Netherlands, specifically at Leiden University (Seaman). With around 15 to 20% of children found to be involved in bullying in the Netherlands, and with even a higher percentage in some countries, it means that the issue of bullying and its role in the development of suicidal thoughts in a child is actually more serious than anyone would think (Seaman). Moreover, the fact that some adolescents are being bullied is actually an indication of the possibility of having low self-esteem. When one is being constantly bullied, it is possible that he develops a low self-esteem and a low estimate of himself especially if he remains helpless in the face of criticisms. This will then make him direct his anger towards himself for not being able to fight back, and any thoughts of self-hatred may always translate to suicidal thoughts, and eventually to suicide itself. In the same way, perhaps the perpetrator in these cases of bullying may also actually have a low self-esteem, which he makes up for through violence and assertion of dominance over a weaker individual. However, although victims are the ones usually ending up in suicide, it is still possible that some of the perpetrators who have a low self-esteem may also commit suicide indirectly by unconsciously endangering themselves by engaging in a variety of risky activities that may actually lead to accidents and death. Another reason for suicide is lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender sexual orientation, and this alone may contribute to low self-esteem (Hawton et al. 2375). Sexual orientation, especially if it is considered deviant in nature will definitely make someone alienated or ostracized by the society, which is predominantly and normally heterosexual. The frequency of deaths of LGBT teenagers due to suicide somehow attests to the idea that there is indeed a causal link between a deviant sexual orientation or deviant sexual behavior and one’s self-esteem (Hawton et al. 2375). If one is identified as a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, the pressure to either hide this identity or to explain this endlessly to almost everyone would somehow not only make one exhausted but would also tend to make someone feel that nobody likes him for who he is, and that he even has to pretend and tell lies in order to be liked. This is probably a good reason for having a low self-esteem. Low self-esteem would then translate into self-hatred and suicidal thoughts. The helplessness that one feels amidst a society that is hypercritical and judgmental is usually the best trigger for the development of self-hatred. A fourth reason why the youth commit suicide may be academic stress, and this could actually trigger and be triggered by a low self-esteem. In South Korea, suicidal high school students pointed out as the most significant stressors the following causes: “difficulties with career choice, low academic achievement, amount of academic work and lack of rest” (Lee et al. 534). These things are actually causally related to the development of suicidal thoughts among Korean adolescents (Lee et al. 534). However, before the suicidal thoughts are formed, it is possible that the adolescent develops a low self-esteem first. Such a low self-esteem may have developed from the fact that one does not have freedom to do what he wants nor does he have even the time or the power of choice to be what he wants to be. The pressure of education, which is specifically the pressure of having to be a top student, comes from society, parents and friends, and so the adolescent student is compelled to please so many people at his own expense. He may then think that no one values him without his academic achievements, and that if he were just himself as a human being, then even his parents would not love him. Such cases of conditional love will therefore make someone develop low self-esteem and may compensate for such love through substance abuse. Unless there is medical intervention, the result would still be suicide. Another reason for suicide among the youth is addiction to the Internet, and the underlying cause and effect of this may be a crumbling self-esteem. According to the study by Lee et al., youths in Korea who use the Internet for more than three hours a day usually remain at risk of developing psychological problems and suicidal thoughts. According to researchers in Korea, internet addiction is a risk factor in one’s developing suicidal tendencies. Although the Internet has been one of the most important tools for educational and social purposes of students in South Korea since Korea became “the most wired nation in the world,” internet addiction has become prevalent among the Korean youth and has become a social problem in society (Lee et al. 534). Socialization through the internet may indeed be healthy but too much of it must be not only a source of concern but also an indication of the consequence of low self-esteem among people who have become so engrossed with socializing anonymously. Actual personal socialization tends to boost the self-image since one is encouraged to look his best when he socializes outside. On the other hand, people who already have a low self-esteem may even have much more lowered self-esteem after engaging in any addictive online relations. Although there is a sense of belongingness and camaraderie on the Internet, this cannot replace actual physical contact in friendship that may be able to foster the development of a high self-esteem. The tendency to drink alcohol and engage in drunkenness is one of the most common causes of suicide among the youth, and most of it is related to a low self-esteem. There is always a strong causal connection between alcohol abuse and suicidal behavior. Aside from suicidal behavior, alcohol-related problems include intoxication, dependence, biochemical effects, cancer, depression and many other diseases related to the overconsumption of alcohol, which may actually be just as destructive as suicidal thoughts (Pompili et al. 1393). This overdependence on alcohol is either caused by or leads to a low self-esteem in an individual. Although people would sometimes drink alcohol for fun, an overdependence on it and a lack of control of it would usually indicate a low self-esteem. Either the person drinking has a problem that he cannot escape from or this is the best thing he can do at the moment. Either way, he has no freedom to do what he wants or to be himself, and this could be one thing that could trigger the development of a low self-esteem. Low self-esteem might then lead to self-hatred, and consequently suicidal thoughts. Several external factors lead to suicide. These include poverty, substance abuse, cyberbullying, physical bullying, deviant sexual orientations, academic pressure, internet addiction, and alcoholism. These external factors either aggravate the already low self-esteem of the person or trigger its development. The sad thing is that a low self-esteem would usually turn to self-hatred and suicidal thoughts. Thus, it is low self-esteem that could be the immediate cause of suicide among the youth of today. Top of Form Bottom of Form Works Cited Anderson, Lane. “High teen suicide rates raise alarm on reservations.” 2014. Deseret News. 25 Mar 2014. Caruso, Kevin. “Teens in Southern India Have the World’s Highest Suicide Rates.” 2014. Suicide.org. 25 Mar 2014. Hawton, Keith, Kate E. A. Saunders & Rory C. O’Connor. “Self-harm and suicide in adolescents.” Lancet 379 (2012): 2373-2382. Lee, Seung-yeon, Jun Sung Hong & Dorothy L. Espelage. “An ecological understanding of youth suicide in South Korea.” School Psychology International 31 (2010): 531-546. Print. Neal, Meghan. “1 in 12 teens have attempted suicide: report.” 2012. New York Daily News. 25 Mar 2014. Pompili, Maurizio, Gianluca Serafini, Marco Innamorati, Giovanni Dominici, Stefano Ferracuti, Giorgio D. Kotzalidis, Giulia Serra, Paolo Girardi, Luigi Janiri, Roberto Tatarelli, Leo Sher & David Lester. “Suicidal Behavior and Alcohol Abuse.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 7 (2010): 1392-1431. Print. Seaman, Andrew M. “Bullying among kids tied to suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts.” 2012. Reuters. 25 Mar 2014. 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