YOUTH SUICIDE

Youth Suicide

Youth Suicide

In recent years, about 2,800 young people between 10 and 21 have killed themselves annually, including about 1,600 in the emotionally volatile 15-to- 19-year-old age group. Millions more suffer from emotional problems and are at risk of suicide. In fact, every year more than 3 million high school students — one in five — consider or imagine committing suicide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP). About a third of those actually make an attempt, with some 400,000 requiring medical attention. Suicide is a significant public health problem for all age groups, but especially among the elderly. Adults 65 and older have had the highest suicide rate of all age groups since 1933, when states began reporting suicide deaths. While suicide is viewed as tragic at any age, it is perhaps more understandable among the elderly, who may be suffering from serious, end-of-life physical ailments. But when a young person commits suicide, experts say it is often because youths have trouble coping with both the rapid physiological changes that occur during adolescence and social pressures — such as dating, applying for college and possibly beginning to drink or take drugs. (Curwen, 2001)

More American teens die at their own hands than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza and chronic lung disease — combined. 3 Similar high tolls overseas have caught the attention of the World Health Organization, which in 1996 urged member nations to address the suicide problem. In 1999 Surgeon General David Satcher called for a concerted effort to reduce suicide rates in the United States. But suicidal youngsters are difficult to identify and treat, and only limited government funds have been allocated for the problem. Few schools have programs to screen or counsel emotionally troubled students, rural areas often lack appropriate treatment facilities, and many states have not developed comprehensive suicide prevention plans. (Duff-Brown, 2003)

Certain minorities, such as Native Americans and Native Alaskans, have even higher rates. In fact, suicidal children come from all racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. “This is an equal-opportunity event,” warns child psychiatrist Harold Koplewicz, director of the Child Study Center at New York University. Suicide is especially prevalent among youths in rural areas, perhaps because of widely scattered mental health services and the easy availability of firearms. Some experts argue that stricter gun control laws would help reduce the youth suicide rate, but others say youngsters ...