Causes of Teenage Suicide, Essay Example

Reasons for high rate of Teen suicide

Teen suicide rate is higher among girls than boys. Girls think about suicide and make attempts to commit it almost double the rate in comparison with boys. Causes of high rate of suicide among teens can be various and complicated but most common causes can be:

Discontent

Insomnia depression and other such mental problems can cause emotional stress and the child suffering from it may think about or make an attempt to commit suicide. Teenagers often see life as a fairy tale and expect the things to always happen in their favor. But when they find out that it’s not the case, they feel depressed and discontented with what they have. This may lead to suicide attempts.

According to National Alliance on Mantle Illnesses of America, research has shown that people who had committed or attempted suicide have a low level of serotonin in their blood. Low serotonin levels are often associated with high impulsive behaviors which can be associated with attempts of suicide.

Bullying

At schools some students suffer from bullying by brats. They feel ashamed of their selves and want to get rid of everything that bothers them. Thus they seek refuge in committing a suicide as they think it would free them from the disrespectful and shameful behavior they daily face.

According to public health researchers in Violence Prevention and Control Division of National Center for Injury Prevention of America, there is a strong causal link between bullying and attempts of suicide. The victims of bullying have the highest rates of negative mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, and thinking about suicide.

Bullying can also be outside of school. Quite often teens are expected to be responsible and to behave like a grown up as they do not remain children anymore, if they make a blunder they are said to be irresponsible and their confidence level drops. They develop the feelings of loneliness and uselessness which may become a cause of their suicide attempts.

Improper support by the family

One of the most common reasons of suicide among teenagers is divorce of their parents. They fail to be fine with the decisions made by their parents. They suffer socially and mentally and may feel inclined towards suicide.

According to research conducted by Carmen Noevi Velez and Patricia Cohen’s for “Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry”, more than half of the teenagers who attempted suicide belonged to families that are not intact and they live it only one of their biological parents while this rate is less than one third for the teenagers who have never attempted suicide.

What parents can do to avoid this problem?

• Parents should make decisions regarding their lives i.e. separation or divorce decision, with proper consideration of the probable affects that may occur on their children
• Children should be allowed to adopt a career or a line of study according to their interest. And they should not be compelled to do what we want them to do
• Mental health of children is a very important factor; children should be treated with care and affection.
• Any changes in the eating habits, attitude and lack of interest in school or healthy activities should be taken seriously.
• They should be taken into confidence to share if they are experiencing any disturbing situations like physical or sexual harassment.
• They should be properly motivated to reach their goals and try again till they succeed rather than torturing them at their failures.
• If children suffer from mental disorder like depression or insomnia they should be provided with proper treatment and consultancy by a psychologist.

References

Paul V. (2011). Creates a safe online haven for LGBT teens as a suicide prevention measure. Huffington Post, Retrieved 2015-1-13.

Kiwi Commons (2011). the “I Get Bullied Too!” campaign to help amplify the voices of bullying and digital abuse victims, Retrieved 2015-2-02.

Iype, George.(2004). South India: World’s suicide capital. Rediff, 2004-04-15. Retrieved 2015-10-1.