Teenage suicide is the self-killing of a teenager. Although the suicide rate among youth significantly decreased in the mid-1990s, suicide deaths in the United States remain high in the 15 to 24 age group with 3,971 suicides in 2001 and over 132,000 suicide attempts in 2002, making it the third leading cause of death for those aged 15 to 24.^[1]. In the United Kingdom, the suicide rate for males between 15 and 24 has risen consistently since 1989, while that for females in the same age group has remained largely static.^[2] However, given the overall decline in the suicide rate in the UK, the rise in suicide amongst the 15-24 male population has been a considerable cause for concern. ^[3] More preventive measures have been taken in the last ten years, including increased understanding of the risk factors and causes and spreading information to schools and parents.

High-risk groups

• Adolescents who are or have been in Youth detention centers or boot camps.
• Adolescents who are physically or mentally disabled.
• Adolescents who have a mental disorder, such as clinical depression, schizophrenia, eating disorders, body dysmorphic disorder, social anxiety, or bipolar disorder. Over 90% of teen suicide victims have a mental disorder, depression, or a history of alcohol or drug abuse.
• Teenagers who have recently received a life-changing event, such as blindness, loss of limbs, deafness, and loss of a loved one.
• Teenagers of conduct disorder (a high level of aggressiveness).
• Teenagers who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
• Students who failed in school/exams.
• Minority Indigenous adolescents, e.g. Native Americans, Indigenous Australians.
• Teenagers from emotionally dysfunctional families, where they do not feel safe to talk about things or show their true feelings, and where they are regularly invalidated.
• Victims of bullying or domestic abuse.
• Children of divorced parents.
• Children with restrictive parents.
• Children who are having difficulty with school work, for example A levels or GCSEs.

Population differences

In the U.S., male adolescent(s) commit suicide at a rate five times greater than that of female adolescents, although suicide attempts by females are three times as frequent as those by males. A possible reason for this is the method of attempted suicide for males is typically that of firearm use, with a 78-90% chance of fatality. Females are more likely to try a different method, such as ingesting poison ^[4]. Females have more parasuicides.

Suicide rates vary for different ethnicities due to cultural differences. In 1998, white Americans accounted for 84% of all youth suicides, 61% male, 23% female. However, the suicide rate for Native Americans was 19.3 per 100,000, much higher than the overall rate (8.5 per 100,000). The suicide rate for African-Americans has increased more than twofold since 1981. A national survey of high school students conducted in 1999 reported that Hispanic students are twice as likely to report an attempted suicide as white students ^[4].

A controversial U.S. government study, titled Report of the Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicide, found that homosexual youth are two to three times more likely to attempt suicide than other young people. Several researchers suggest that bisexual and youth uncertain of their sexual orientation may be at higher risk for suicidal behavior than homosexual teenagers. Many homosexual teenagers who commit suicide may also suffer from mental illnesses or substance abuse disorders, making the connection more complicated. Institutionalized and internalized homophobia may also lead LGBT youth to think that their parents will throw them out and perhaps abuse them for being homosexual. It is impossible to know the suicide rate of homosexual youth because homosexuality is often hidden, particularly in this age group. Further research is currently being done to explain the prevalence of suicide among homosexual youths ^[5][6][7].

In 2004, 1,985 adolescents under the age of 20 committed suicide, an increase of 18% from the previous year.^[8]

On September 6, 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported suicide rate in American adolescents (especially girls, 10 to 24 years old) increased 8% (2003 to 2004), the largest jump in 15 years. Specifically, in 2004 - 4,599 suicides in Americans ages 10 to 24, up from 4,232 in 2003, for a rate of 7.32 per 100,000 people that age. Before, the rate dropped to 6.78 per 100,000 in 2003 from 9.48 per 100,000 in 1990. The findings also reported that antidepressant drugs reduced suicide risk than increase it. Psychiatrists found that the increase is due to the decline in prescriptions of antidepressant drugs like Prozac to young people since 2003, leaving more cases of serious depression untreated. In a December 2006 study, The American Journal of Psychiatry said that a decrease in antidepressant prescriptions to minors of just a few percentage points coincided with a 14 percent increase in suicides in the United States; in the Netherlands, the suicide rate was 50% up, upon prescription drop.^[9]

Suicide prevention

Main article: Suicide prevention

Promoting overall mental health among adolescents is key to reducing possible suicidal thoughts. Some people argue that limiting young people's access to lethal weapons, such as firearms, may be a pivotal deterrent. Some school-based youth suicide awareness programs exist to try to increase high-school students' awareness of the problem, provide knowledge about the behavioral characteristics of teens at risk, and describe available treatment or counseling resources. However, some research has shown that this may have an unintended negative effect of suggesting suicide as an option for teenagers ^[10].

When talking to a teenage person who is contemplating suicide, it is important to take the threat seriously. Seventy-five percent of all suicides give some warning of their intentions to a friend or family member.^[11]

There are many methods of helping teenagers who are considering suicide. In order to help a suicidal person it is important to show the helper can be trusted and will listen. Seeing a doctor is widely recommended as well. A course doctors commonly take when presented with a young, suicidal patient is a combination of drug-based treatment (eg. imipramine or fluoxetine) with a 'talking-based' therapy, such as referral to a cognitive behaviour therapist. This kind of therapy concentrates on modifying self-destructive and irrational thought processes. ^[12]

When trying to help a teenager who is considering suicide, it's important to try to find out what is troubling the person. Lack of parental interest in their teenage children may be considered a factor in teenage suicide: according to one study 90 percent of suicidal teenagers believed their families did not understand them.^[13]

When confronted by a suicidal teen, do not try to argue them out of committing suicide, or attempt to make them feel guilty for considering suicide (e.g. "your family loves you so much, how could you think like this?"). This type of intervention can actually serve to alienate the child further. Instead, try to explore the reasons why the teenager is so unhappy and feels that suicide is the best solution. The teenager's pediatrician will also be able to plan a suitable course of treatment, or make a psychiatric referral, if the teenager is willing to engage with the proposed treatment.

In a crisis situation professional help must be sought, either at hospital or a walk-in clinic. There are also several telephone help numbers for help on teenage suicide, depending on one's location (country/state). Also, emergency services should be contacted immediately, in case the teenager makes a suicide attempt.

Further reading

• Alan L. Berman; David A Jobes; and Morton M. Silverman. Adolescent Suicide: Assessment and Intervention. 2nd Edition. APA 2005

References

1. ^ Suicide: Fact Sheet, 30 March 2006, retrieved 2 May 2006.
2. ^ http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Expodata/Spreadsheets/D7468.xls
3. ^ National Statistics Online
4. ^ ^{a b} Youth Suicide Fact Sheet, 1 January 2005, retrieved 2 May 2006.
5. ^ "Sexual Orientation and Youth Suicide" by Dr. Gary Remafedi, October 6 1999, retrieved 2 May 2006.
6. ^ "Youth suicide risk and sexual orientation - Statistical Data Included" by Rutter, Philip A & Soucar, Emil, Summer 2002, retrieved 2 May 2006.
7. ^ Articles Relating to Suicide by GLB Youth, retrieved 3 May 2006.
8. ^ Kids' suicides rise, CDC report finds - USATODAY.com
9. ^ New York Times, Suicide Rises in Youth; Antidepressant Debate Looms
10. ^ "The Surgeon General's Call To Action To Prevent Suicide 1999", United States Department of Health and Human Services, 21 July 2004, retrieved 2 May 2006.
11. ^ When you fear someone will take their own life. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (2006-08-27). Retrieved on 2006-08-27.
12. ^ Treatments: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. depresioNet (2004-01-08). Retrieved on 2006-08-27.
13. ^ AAP - Preventing Teen Suicide. American Academy of Pediatrics (2006-08-27). Retrieved on 2006-08-27.

External links

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
• Stamp Out Suicide Has a Resources page with contacts, some especially for teenagers and young people in the UK and Ireland.
• - Kids in Trouble Help Page The Kids in Trouble Help Page has helped many teens by being a user friendly place where Kids and Teens can find the Help they need in all kinds of situations including, Suicide, Child Abuse, Depression and Runaways. Site includes links to all kinds of helpful info, and stories of other kids who have dealt with similar issues.
• - Suicide and Emotional Intelligence - index for many different resources involving teen suicide. Site includes information and valuable help for teens and parents of teens, as well as emotional needs that lead up to and cause suicide.
• ULifeline Suicide Prevention - section about suicide on ULifeline, a mental health resource for college students.
• TeenSuicide.us - suicide information.
• Second Wind Fund - a teenage suicide prevention fund.
• The Trevor Helpline: 1 866 - 4U TREVOR - nationwide, 24-hour, free, confidential suicide helpline for gay and questioning teenagers, United States. See The Trevor Project for the Wikipedia article.
• Research from the UK government into the suicide rate in the UK.
• Rachel's Challenge - a school presentation to stop teen suicide and school violence
• UK official statistics for suicide.
• National Hopeline Network
• Mind (National Association for Mental Health) UK
• Suicide prevention resources relating to Teens