Preventing Teenage Suicide

     

         With so many of today’s youth facing problems in their lives and not wanting to talk to family, friends, and teachers, counselors. Schools are making sure that they have some teenage suicide prevention program(s) in place. However even with these programs they do not always work, resulting in the death of a classmate, hospitalization, or admission to a physiological problem.

      Teenage suicide has several reasons for being committed or attempted and those reasons can be complex. For people in the age range of 15-24 suicide is the third-leading cause of death according to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention Not to mention that for every completed teen suicide at least 25 attempts made. (kidsnation.com, 2014). Knowing that “every week twelve young men kill themselves (Samaritans, 1999 & Day, 2004); and men are four times more likely to kill themselves than girls (Garland & Zigler, 1993 & Day, 2004) and they are more likely to hang themselves while girls typically overdose (Madge and Harvey, 1999 & Day, 2004).” In her article, Patricia Day” Is teaching problem solving to young people a way of preventing teenage suicide?” mentions; “The Samaritans estimate that 19,000 adolescents attempt suicide every year and 700 succeed (Kenny, 2002). The reasons for the increase in young male suicide are difficult to pinpoint (Laurent, 2000). For females, they are much better at using social support when they have problems and accepting therapeutic help (Seiffge-Krenke, 2000)."

     Adolescence is when teenagers are going through changes, emotionally, cognitively and socially, sexual orientation, wanting of independence, conflicts with rules, as well as the expectations of others around them academically and physically. It is through these changes, that adolescence, can and does have an impact on the emotional well-being (Seiffge-Krenke, 2000). The results of these changes can cause risk-taking resulting in life-threatening behavior.    

     According to kidsnation.com suicide among teens usually happens after a stressful life changing event, problems at school, and a breakup, death of a family member, divorce, or a major family conflict. Low self-esteem also discriminates suicidal teens. Self-esteem can influence the actions and having the correct amount is associated with being able to ‘control one's actions’ and cope with stress. High self –esteem can be seen as a factor of resilience (Sandin et al. 1999 p.423). Should a person have low self-esteem it can interfere with the construction of self-confirmation and adversely affects the chances for establishing the supportive interpersonal relations that can be highly protective in stress (Tomori and Zalar, 2000 p. 232)?  

     In Day’s paper, she goes on to mention to several programs that are in effect to help prevent/reduce the number of male suicides. However, these programs might work for females too. These programs include suicide education programs (which are not effective and even have negative effects according to Garland and Ziger in 1993 and Ploeg et al. in 1996). Programs aimed at enhancing problem solving, the stop, think, do program from Australia using traffic signals to help solve situations.  

     
Sure the United States has similar programs in place for teenage suicide prevention, however many of them do not work or are being taught at the wrong age. Parents also need to be aware of what is going on with their teenager, ask questions, and be nosey by looking through their backpacks and rooms. Watch for warning signs, depression, self-inflicted cutting, the pulling away from friends or family, changes in eating or sleeping habits, the giving away of ‘prized’ possessions, writing of songs, letters, poems mentioning death, separation and loss just to name a few. Educators also need to be on their toes for warning signs from their students such as; talk of suicide or death in general, hints of not being around, not wanting to play sports anymore, a lack of concentration, or thinking clearly, the writing of poems, letters, songs mentioning separation, loss, or death in them.

      In conclusion, teenage suicide is not something that can just be brushed under the mat. The prevention is a group project that must be done by everyone. In order to solve the problem, more programs that are productive need to be taught to children not just within a certain age group, but to all soon-to-be teenagers in order for them to understand what they are going to face once they get older and more to a new school. Using the Australian program stop, think do the United States and other countries have a good chance at reducing the rate of teenage attempts and suicides.

                                                                   References

About Teen Suicide. (2014). Kidsnation.com Pg.1-4

Day, P. (2004). Is teaching problem solving to young people a way of preventing teenage

     Suicide? Practice Development in Health Care, 3(3), 158-178.

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