by Monica Lakhwani

Created on: July 12, 2009   Last Updated: July 14, 2009

Suicide is the third leading cause of death for people between the ages of 15 and 24. Furthermore, for adolescents it is the leading cause of hospital psychiatric emergencies and admissions. In the United States alone, nearly 12% of all deaths occurring among people ages 10 to 24 are due to suicide and almost 9% of all high school students have attempted suicide at least once. One study conducted in 2004 showed that for persons between the ages of 15 and 24, twelve suicide attempts occurred on average on a daily basis. As sad as it may seem, suicide rates have increased almost 300% over the last 30 years. Furthermore, when comparing ethnic groups, Hispanics/Latinos are at a greater risk of suicide behavior. This may be true due to the fact that Latinos are the fastest growing ethnic group representing over 14% of the population in America. Regardless, studies show that adolescents are at a greater risk for suicide ideation (thought) as well as suicide attempt. Factors affecting todays youth include depression, substance abuse, social conflicts, family conflicts, and school/social stress. Suicide is a concern among adolescents in the United States - especially adolescent immigrants. In fact, stress related to early cultural assimilation, social isolation, leaving family members behind, and discrimination plays an important role. Other factors leading to suicide attempt can include migration, acculturative stress, low socio-economic background, values of traditional gender roles (for example, many Asian societies), and ethnicity.

Most researchers agree that makes the top three list as the leading cause of death for adolescents, including Latinos, and that the suicide numbers far exceed the numbers of homicides in the United States. At many times there is a positive correlation between suicidal tendencies and the use of alcohol and substance abuse disorders. School is where children spend most of their day and as a result it becomes the perfect setting for implementing suicide prevention programs. However, a 1991 report found that only 20% of educators had a school prevention program in place. Additionally, teachers don't have adequate training/knowledge about adolescent suicide. So what can we do to understanding and preventing teen suicide? We can increase our knowledge on adolescent suicide and set training or professional development programs in place for teachers, parents, counselors, administrators, and school staff on recognizing the signs of depression/suicide and on ways to prevent suicide among adolescents. Additionally, our school systems need to have suicide prevention programs in place in the event one of our children should need it.

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