What is Teen Suicide?

Teen suicides are on a major rise in today’s society. A young person, who is generally categorized as someone below age 20, and deliberately ends their own life is an occurrence of teen suicide. We, the people, hear of many suicide deaths every year, but don’t really have a full on knowledge of its impact or source. When a teen commits suicide, it has profound effects on not only parents, siblings, friends, teachers, but our community of youth today. The suicide rate among teens has risen dramatically in the recent years, due to a combination of individual, relational, community, and societal factors.
Suicide is a serious public health problem that plays a major role in the deaths of numerous teens. According to the Suicide Prevention Education Alliance, suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 15-24. More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease combined. Teen girls are statistically twice as likely as the male counterparts to attempt suicide. Although, teenage boys are four times more successful in committing suicide due to the preference of using more harmful methods such as guns and hanging,rather than turning to drugs and cutting. The disturbing trend of suicides is affecting younger children as well, with suicide rates experiencing a dramatic increase.
Committing suicide leaves a long lasting effect on more people than you could ever imagine. BMC Psychiatry conducted a large project on teenage unnatural death in Sweden, and asked ten families to participate in this project by giving their personal stories and opinions. These families described their experiences very vividly, and stated, “Teenager suicide is a devastating trauma for the surviving family and the lack of sustainable explanations for the suicide is a predominant issue in the grief process.”