Teenage Suicide

Teenage suicide is not an uncommon occurrence in society today. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, completed a study among people with ages ranging from 15 to 24. Suicide found its place as the number three leading cause of death among people of these ages. Number one was car accidents and number two was homicide. These rates were compared throughout the years of 1980 to 1996, and they were found to have drastically increased. In addition to the rising numbers of suicides committed, suicide attempts are on the rise as well.

This website states that there are a number of factors that lead to these teens committing suicides. The CDC says that gender is a major factor and that the different sexes go about suicide in different manners. Girls are said to be 2 times more likely to attempt suicide, and they carry this out by using excess amounts of drugs or cutting. While girls are 2 times more likely to carry out suicide attempts, boys are much more likely to bring it to completion, using means of guns or jumping from heights.

The CDC also found that almost 60% of all suicides were committed with a firearm of some kind and that children are more likely to commit suicide if these weapons are available in their homes.

The issue of teenage suicide is a very sad and sensitive one. It saddens me to see that the rates across this country are rising. I hope that in the present year and throughout the near future that American teen suicide rates will begin to decrease.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/suicide.html